President Biden close to blocking Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel

The Washington Post first reported the plan. Shares of US Steel closed down 17.5 per cent. Nippon Steel shares fell 1.6 per cent early on Thursday in Tokyo but later recovered to trade 0.3 per cent up.

“Japan is one of our most staunch allies,” US Steel said in a statement. “We fully expect to pursue all possible options under the law to ensure this transaction… closes.” “Nippon Steel strongly believes that the US government should appropriately handle procedures on this matter in accordance with the law,” the Japanese company said in a separate statement.

 

Nippon’s planned acquisition of the US steelmaker faces opposition from Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris saying on Monday she wants US Steel to remain “American owned and operated.” Her Republican rival Donald Trump has pledged to block the deal if elected.

 

Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground state that could sway the outcome of the 2024 presidential election and both candidates are making repeated visits there.

 

The panel that is reviewing the proposed merger for national security reasons has not sent its formal recommendation to the president, the White House said. White House spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on Biden’s plans, but reiterated the president’s view “that American steel companies ought to be American owned.”

 

The Treasury Department, which is overseeing the national security approval process for the deal, declined to comment.

US Steel employees rallied on Wednesday outside the company’s headquarters seeking to convince politicians to reconsider their opposition to the proposed transaction.

 

“We want elected leaders and other key decision makers to recognize the benefits of the deal as well as the unavoidable consequences if the deal fails,” US Steel CEO David Burritt said in a statement.

 

He said that without the deal, “US Steel will largely pivot away from its blast furnace facilities, putting thousands of good-paying union jobs at risk (and) negatively impacting numerous communities across the locations where its facilities exist.”

 

Burritt added that the failure of the deal would raise “serious questions about US Steel remaining headquartered in Pittsburgh.” He told the Wall Street Journal it would likely move its headquarters to the south if the deal collapsed.

 

The United Steelworkers union criticized Burritt, accusing him of “making baseless and unlawful threats.” “Today’s pathetic attempt to orchestrate a rally in downtown Pittsburgh shows that US Steel is becoming increasingly desperate to save the deal,” the union said.

 

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the US Steel comments. The Harris campaign declined to comment as well.

 

Nippon Steel said last week that it plans to invest over $2.7 billion in union-represented facilities at Mon Valley Works in Pennsylvania and Gary Works in Indiana in support of the future of manufacturing for those communities.

 

US Steel said that if the deal does not get approved it “would not make the same financial commitments.” The steelmaker has cut jobs in recent years including in Michigan.

 

Nippon said earlier on Wednesday that the core senior management as well as a majority of board members at the US

company would be US citizens if the deal goes ahead.

 

First Published: Sep 05 2024 | 8:05 AM IST