PRESIDENT Joe Biden blocked the $15 billion acquisition of US Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel on Friday — something he had first vowed to do in March.His decision comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) failed to reach a consensus on the possible national security risks of the deal last month.The rise of US Steel, a storied American company, runs parallel to the arrival of America on the world stage.
With roots dating to the late 19th century, US Steel has produced the materials used for everything from the nation's bridges and skyscrapers to its tanks and battleships.What eventually became the largest corporation in the world was created by JP Morgan and others who financed the merger of Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel Co. with rival Federal Steel at the start of the 20th century. It instantly became the world's first $1 billion company. In 1907, US Steel absorbed its biggest rival, drawing the ire of President Theodore Roosevelt, who said the acquisition violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.The US government tried to break up US Steel in 1911 but failed.US Steel became a pioneer in the practice of vertical integration, a process by which a company attempts to gain control of every aspect of its business. For US Steel, that meant control of coal and iron ore mines, coking ovens, railroads, ships and eventually, oil production.The Great Depression and a world warUS Steel modernized operations in the 1930s and began producing more steel used for a growing middle class. Manufacturers needed steel for household appliances and automobiles, and vast construction projects required millions of tons of steel.What followed was an era of immense growth for the Pittsburgh company.The world was at war again by midcentury, and the US relied on US Steel to produce the basis of everything from cots to armor-piercing shells and ship