US President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel's 14.9 billion dollar takeover of United States Steel on 3 January 2025, issuing an executive order that said there was credible evidence the deal might threaten national security. The decision followed a split recommendation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which had referred the case to the president on 23 December 2024 after failing to reach a consensus. Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel condemned the order as a violation of due process and filed a lawsuit on 6 January, while Cleveland-Cliffs and Nucor signalled interest in buying U.S. Steel themselves. Shares in U.S. Steel fell more than 7 percent on the day of the announcement. On 12 January the Biden administration delayed enforcement of the blocking order until 18 June 2025, giving the courts time to review the challenge. The deal had been agreed in December 2023 and had already survived an antitrust review, but opposition from both the outgoing and incoming presidents left its fate in doubt at the start of 2025.
Source: Marketplace — https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/01/03/could-nippon-still-buy-u-s-steel-after-biden-blocked-the-deal
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