Biden Plans to Block Takeover Bid of U.S. Steel by Japans Nippon

President Biden has decided to block the $14 billion takeover of U.S.Steel by Nippon Steel of Japan in an announcement expected as soon as Friday based on grounds that the sale poses a threat to national security, according to people familiar with the matter.The decision would be an extraordinary use of executive power, particularly for a president who is just weeks from leaving office.

It is also a departure from America’s long-established culture of open investment, one that could have wide-ranging implications for the U.S.economy.Mr.

Biden’s move to stop the transaction could cause foreign investors to rethink the wisdom of acquiring American firms in sensitive industries that are based in politically important states.It could also roil relations with Japan, a close ally of the United States and one of America’s largest sources of foreign investment.The president’s decision to block the deal came after a federal committee reviewing the transaction opted to not make a formal recommendation about whether the takeover should be allowed to proceed, according to letters sent to the companies and the White House last month.The Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States, which is made up of agencies including the departments of Treasury and Justice, expressed reservations about the deal to the companies in a letter last month.

CFIUS (pronounced SIFF-ee-yuhs) voiced concerns that the transaction could pose a national security threat to the United States by potentially leading to a decline in American steel production.The officials suggested that Nippon’s other global business considerations could in the future outweigh its pledges to invest in U.S.

Steel.The lack of a formal recommendation cleared the way for Mr.Biden, barring an unexpected change of heart, to end a transaction that became ensnared in election-year politics.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your pa...