U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel of Japan filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration after a $15 billion acquisition deal was blocked by the administration, accusing the head of the Steelworker's union and a rival steel company of colluding to scuttle it.
Biden pretended to be "America first" about the deal, but overlooked the fact that Japan is a strong ally of the U.S.
Major U.S. steel companies need to "keep leading the fight on behalf of America’s national interests,” Biden said.
America's national interests include strong relationships with our allies, or maybe Biden's brain just isn't computing basic facts anymore.
“Nippon Steel and U. S. Steel have engaged in good faith with all parties to underscore how the Transaction will enhance, not threaten, United States national security," the companies said in a prepared statement Monday.
Nippon was poised to invest $2.7 billion into aging blast furnaces in Mon Valley, Pennsylvania and Gary, Indiana.
U.S. Steel said without that investment, it would have to pivot to cheaper non-union furnaces and move its headquarters out of Pittsburgh.
Federal regulators deadlocked over the takeover, which led Biden to halt it.
“A strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority. ... Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure," he said in a statement.
It's the first time a merger with a Japanese company has been blocked by a U.S. president, MSN noted.
A separate suit was filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania jointly by Nippon and U.S. Steel.
It accused rival steel company Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and its CEO, Lourenco Goncalves, in coordination with U.S. Steelworkers union head David McCall, of “engaging in a coordinated series of anticompetitive and racketeering activities” to block the deal.
It turns out Cleveland-Cliffs had offered to buy U.S. Steel in 2023 for $7 billion, but was refused.
McCall has for a long time called Nippon a “serial trade cheater” and accused it of dumping products into the U.S. market.
But Nippon may not fare any better with incoming President Donald Trump, who also opposes the acquisition.
