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President Joe Biden is expected to block a $15 billion deal by Japan's Nippon Steel to buy US Steel, ending months of frenzied lobbying and causing a setback for Washington's relationship with its closest allies in the Asia-Pacific.
In one of his latest actions in government, Biden – who has long opposed the takeover – is expected to announce on Friday his decision to cancel the proposed takeover of the iconic US steelmaker, according to two people familiar with the matter.
One of those people said the White House had not yet been notified Nippon Steel About the decision.
The president's expected move comes after an interagency investment screening review, known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Failed to reach consensus By a December 23 deadline to determine whether the acquisition poses a threat to national security.
Nippon Steel is likely to take legal action against the outgoing president's rule, two people familiar with the situation said.
Such a procedure could, during the discovery process, reveal the extent to which the decision was driven by politics rather than national security concerns, one of the people said. This process would also expose the limitations of the CFIUS process and its vulnerability to political interests.
Nippon Steel declined to comment.
So was President-elect Donald Trump Threatened to cancel The deal pledged to protect the Pittsburgh-based company through a combination of tariffs and tax incentives.
The conclusion to the year-long saga indicates that a bold maneuver by the Japanese group will soon fail It has become a sensitive political issue In an election year. It also represents a significant departure from the longstanding open investment environment in the United States.
Biden's decision risks undermining four years of work to reassure allies like Japan about their special relationship with the United States amid a strategic competition with China, a shift toward protectionism, support for labor unions and an “America First” sentiment in American politics.
Officials in the US and Japanese governments fear the broader consequences of investment, mergers and acquisitions by Japan and other partners in America, and the consequences that this may have on the solidity of the US-Japan alliance.
Takahiro Mori, vice president of Nippon Steel, led the Japanese steelmaker's last-minute effort to win over government officials and union members in Washington and Pennsylvania.
Those efforts included a new proposal this week offering the government veto power over any reductions in steelmaking capacity at the majority of Nippon Steel's plants in the United States, as well as a host of other guarantees on jobs and investment.
The gesture followed concerns from CFIUS that US Steel might reduce domestic steel production under Japanese ownership, affecting industries of national importance.
However, those moves were of little consequence, even as some of Biden's senior advisers tried to talk him out of blocking the deal.
Her death represents a victory for Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, and David McCaul, the head of the United Steelworkers union, who were staunch opponents of the deal.
