Litigation in the coming weeks seems certain in the wake of a decision by President Biden to block the sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese company Nippon Steel.
In announcing his decision, Biden remarked that a “strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority and is critical for resilient supply chains.”
In issuing an executive order to prevent U.S. Steel/Nippon Steel deal, Biden said he was acting to make sure that America has a “strong domestically owned and operated steel industry that can continue to power our national sources of strength at home and abroad.”
Biden additionally declared that U.S. Steel would “remain a proud American company, one that’s American-owned, American-operated, by American union steelworkers, the best in the world.”
Two years ago, it was announced that the Tokyo-based Nippon had agreed to buy the nearly 125 year-old U.S. Steel for a record $14 billion. The announcement was celebrated by officials with both companies, not to mention any number of economic analysts who said the purchase-merger would keep the legendary Pittsburg-based company in business.
But the proposed purchase has been opposed by almost all major political figures including President-Elect Trump, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and incoming Vice-President J.D. Vance.
U.S. Steel, however, has maintained that its potential purchase by Nippon represented the “best deal for our employees, shareholders, communities, and customers.” The company additionally asserted that the deal would “strengthen the American steel industry, American jobs, and American supply chains,” while also fueling the domestic steel industry’s “resilience against China.”
Responding to the Biden decision, the two companies issued a joint statement in which they said, “The President’s statement and order do not present any credible evidence of a national security issue, making clear that this was a political decision.”
The statement also charged that the Biden order “reflects a clear violation of due process,” as well as the laws governing the federal government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Without offering specifics, the joint statement additionally disclosed that the two companies will now “take all appropriate action to protect our legal rights.”
January 6, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
