President Joe Biden has decided to block Nippon Steel's proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, the Washington Post reported, citing two unnamed government sources.
The White House is expected to announce the U.S. president's decision as early as today unless there is a last-minute reversal, which the two officials do not expect, according to the newspaper, cited by AFP.
Joe Biden has decided to block the deal despite efforts in recent days by some of his top advisers, who warned him that rejecting a major investment by a major Japanese company could damage relations between Washington and Tokyo, the newspaper said.
The presidency had no immediate comment.
In late December, a panel tasked with assessing the national security implications of a possible takeover declined to give an opinion, referring the matter to the outgoing US president, who had 15 days to make a decision.
Both Joe Biden and Republican President-elect Donald Trump have repeatedly voiced their opposition to the nearly $15 billion deal, which was announced in December 2023.
Biden believes that the steel industry is of strategic importance to the United States, which is the world's largest importer of steel.
The deal was at the centre of the US presidential campaign in 2024, when Pennsylvania emerged as a key state and the steelworkers' union United Steelworkers (USS) vigorously opposed the merger.
Nippon Steel described the deal as a lifeline for Pennsylvania's weakened steel industry.
The Japanese steel giant and US Steel have vowed to sue the government, claiming it failed to follow proper procedures in its consideration of the acquisition. | BGNES
