By blocking the acquisition of US Steel, President Joe Biden has irked Japan, one of Washington’s closest allies whose firms are the biggest foreign investors in the United States.
Nippon Steel touted the $14.9 billion deal as a lifeline for its rusting US rival, but opponents warned that the Japanese firm would slash jobs — despite assurances to the contrary.
The transaction announced in 2023 came in the run-up to last year’s presidential election — US Steel is based in swing state Pennsylvania — and both main candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, opposed it.
A government panel, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), failed to reach consensus and passed the buck to Biden in the waning days of his presidency.
Biden, echoing Trump, cited “national security” and blamed unfair global trade policies — with a nod to China, the world’s biggest producer — for the decline of the US steel industry.
“I have taken decisive action to level the playing field for American steelworkers and steel producers by tripling tariffs on steel imports from China,” Biden said.
