Biden rejects U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel deal

President Biden announced Friday that he is blocking the $15 billion proposal by Japan's Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel after a government panel recently failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of the deal. 

Mr. Biden long opposed the deal and was waiting for a report on the merger to be issued by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, to announce his final decision. The interagency committee, chaired by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, reviews such deals with an eye toward potential national security risks, and can block sales or force changes in the terms to protect national security. CFIUS said on Dec. 23 that it was unable to reach a consensus on the deal, leaving it to Mr. Biden.

"It is my solemn responsibility as president to ensure that, now and long into the future, America has a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry that can continue to power our national sources of strength at home and abroad; and it is a fulfillment of that responsibility to block foreign ownership of this vital American company," the president said in a statement Friday announcing his decision to block the deal. "U.S. Steel will remain a proud American company – one that's American-owned, American-operated, by American union steelworkers – the best in the world."