OAN Staff James Myers
8:15am – Friday, January 3, 2025
President Joe Biden announced Friday that he would block the sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese-owned Nippon Steel after a year of considering the potential deal.
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“To continue leading the fight on behalf of America's national interests, we need America's largest companies, which account for a major share of America's steel production capacity,” Biden said in a statement. “As determined by a committee of national security and trade experts from across the executive branch, this acquisition would place one of the largest steel producers in the United States under foreign control and would threaten national security and critical supplies. It would pose a risk to the chain.”
“That's why I'm taking action to stop this deal,” Biden said.
The decision came after a national security review by a Treasury committee failed to reach an agreement, leaving the final decision to the president in December. In September, multiple media outlets reported that Mr. Biden was preparing to block the takeover.
Meanwhile, Nippon Steel has previously said it may take legal action if the deal is blocked. U.S. Steel also said it expected Biden to approve the deal.
Additionally, Nippon Steel first announced plans to acquire US Steel in December 2023 for approximately $15 billion. The planned deal has raised alarms among Pennsylvania lawmakers and steelworkers about how it could affect job outsourcing, union workers and the U.S. supply chain. Ta.
Biden said last March that it was “critically important” that U.S. Steel remain domestically owned and operated.
U.S. Steel's stock price fell rapidly after the announcement, falling 7% at market open on Friday.
Founded in 1901 and with an estimated 11,000 employees, the company is down from its heyday during World War II, when it employed about 340,000 people. The company's stock price has barely risen since the 1990s as cheaper steel production overseas increased.
“As we have said many times, steel production and the steel workers who produce it are the backbone of our country,” Biden said in a statement. “A strong, domestically owned and operated steel industry is a key national security priority and critical to a resilient supply chain. Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation It reduces power and safety.”
“That's because steel underpins our nation's infrastructure, our automotive industry, and our defense industrial base,” he added. “Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less powerful and less secure.”
Furthermore, President-elect Donald Trump has also said that he will block Nippon Steel's move to acquire U.S. Steel.
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