Biden Blocks Nippon Steel's $15 Billion US Steel Acquisition

US President Joe Biden has blocked a $15 billion deal by Japan’s Nippon Steel to buy US Steel, delivering a setback to Washington’s relations with its closest Asia-Pacific ally and prompting the companies to threaten legal action. Biden, who has long been opposed to the purchase, issued an order on Friday compelling Nippon and US Steel 'to fully and permanently abandon the proposed transaction' within 30 days.

In response, the two companies labelled the move 'a clear violation of due process' and the law. In an indication of possible legal action, they added: 'Following President Biden’s decision, we are left with no choice but to take all appropriate action to protect our legal rights.' A clause in the original agreement with US Steel obliges Nippon to pay a $565 million break-fee payment in the event the deal is blocked. Biden’s extraordinary intervention, which comes with just 17 days remaining of his term, caps a presidency in which he has sought to boost American jobs and has moved away from the free-trade agenda of previous administrations. It is also likely to raise concerns about US receptiveness to future foreign investment, with president-elect Donald Trump, who won November’s election on a protectionist platform, also opposing the deal. The companies said it was 'shocking and deeply troubling that the US government would ... treat an ally like Japan in this way'. They added: 'Unfortunately, it sends a chilling message to any company based in a US allied country contemplating significant investment in the US.' In the order, Biden said there was 'credible evidence' that through the acquisition, Nippon 'might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States'. The Committee on Foreign Investment, which vets foreign acquisitions, failed to reach a consensus by a December 23 deadline on whether the transaction posed a national security threat

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