President Biden is expected to announce a decision as early as Friday on whether to approve Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, according to people familiar with the process.
The president said this before. he was against The deal said it was important for U.S. Steel to “remain a domestically owned and operated American steel company.”
In recent days, Biden’s top aides have had extensive discussions with him about whether to approve the deal. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke directly with the president about the issue.
U.S. Steel has said it will likely file lawsuits, including filing a lawsuit against the Biden administration, if the president blocks the acquisition, the people said. Cleveland-Cliffs, which lost its bid for U.S. Steel, could also be named, as well as President Lourenco Goncalves and U.S. Steelworkers President Dave McCall.
On Tuesday, Japan-based Nippon Steel proposed giving the U.S. government a direct veto over changes to U.S. Steel’s production capacity. The proposal represents a minor change to a recommendation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a review panel known as CFIUS, aimed at allaying concerns that Nippon Steel’s proposed purchase of U.S. Steel could lead to lower domestic steel production and lower production. Reducing the American workforce.
Previous proposals suggested that decisions on production would be made by an independent majority U.S. board appointed by CFIUS. The proposal was submitted to the White House for Mr. Biden’s review on Monday.
The proposed changes in the so-called mitigation agreement would give the U.S. government full decision-making authority over changes to production capacity.
Nippon Steel’s new proposal provides a 10-year guarantee that it will not reduce production capacity at U.S. Steel plants in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Texas, California and Arkansas without approval from the CFIUS panel, according to people familiar with the process. It is led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Previously, the deadline for Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition was January 7, but last week the company said it had extended the deadline to the first quarter of 2025.
According to sources, Trade Representative Katherine Tai, a member of CFIUS, opposed the agreement due to concerns about its impact on labor.
Other agencies with seats on CFIUS, including the Department of Justice, Treasury, and State Department, did not object.
