U.S. President Joe Biden has blocked a proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of a U.S. steel company by its Japanese rival, citing national security concerns. A White House statement on his executive order referenced “credible evidence” that the Japanese firm could take actions harmful to U.S. national security.
Despite intensive lobbying in recent days from some of his senior advisors, who reportedly warned that rejecting a significant investment by a leading Japanese corporation like Nippon Steel could strain U.S.-Japan relations, Biden decided to halt the deal.
The decision fell to the outgoing president after a U.S. government panel failed to reach a consensus in late December on whether Nippon Steel’s acquisition posed a threat to national security. Legally obligated to act within a 15-day window, following the blockage by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Biden ultimately opposed the deal. He has been a consistent critic of the acquisition, joining other American lawmakers who have raised serious concerns about the transaction.
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