Steel Mills

USS confirms split CFIUS decision on Nippon deal; it's now up to Biden

Written by Laura Miller

December 23, 2024

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) could not reach a unanimous decision on whether Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9-billion purchase of the iconic U.S. Steel poses a national security threat.

The committee’s split decision pushes it to the president for the final call. By law, President Biden has 15 days to render a ruling. This pushes back the decision on the deal’s fate into the new year, to Tuesday, Jan. 7, just two weeks before Biden’s presidency ends and Trump’s second term begins. It will also be well over a year since the deal was first announced in December 2023.

The national security concern identified by CFIUS is that Nippon’s acquisition of U.S. Steel could lead to lower domestic steel production, the Washington Post reported.

U.S. Steel confirmed receipt of the CFIUS decision late Monday.

“It is our hope that President Biden will do the right thing and adhere to the law by approving a transaction that so clearly enhances U.S. national and economic security,” the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said in a statement to SMU.

“Nippon Steel has made extraordinary commitments, including over $2.7 billion of investments in our USW facilities, that will be a binding legal agreement enforceable by the U.S. government, to ensure these virtues are realized,” USS pointed out.

“This is a transaction that should be approved on its merits, and one that should be a model for “friendshoring” investment,” it added.

While Biden has said U.S. Steel should remain an American company, it’s been reported that he will nix the deal. Trump has stated the same.

Attorneys for Nippon and U.S. Steel told CFIUS they would “immediately” challenge a Biden ruling to block the deal and to expect civil lawsuits against the administration, according to the Washington Post report.

Nippon Steel did not respond to an SMU request for comment.

USW unmoved

The United Steelworkers (USW) union, critical of the deal since it was first announced, remains unmoved in its opposition to Nippon’s takeover of the US steelmaker.

In a Christmas Eve statement, union leadership reminded members that Nippon initially was only interested in purchasing U.S. Steel’s Big River Steel assets in Arkansas.

“That continues to be the long-term focus of its acquisition,” USW said. “The result would be the gradual starving of capital to other operations around the country, the likely loss of our jobs, and the negative impact on our country’s economic and national security.

“It is solely the president’s responsibility to review CFIUS’s report and make the determination,” it continued. “Now it’s up to President Biden to determine the best path forward.”

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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