Nippon Steel and US Steel attack Joe Biden administration for ‘unlawful interference’

Japanese steelmakers Nippon Steel and American steelmaker US Steel will take legal action against Joe Biden’s administration, for “unlawful interference” in the proposed takeover of US Steel by the Japanese steelmaker, they announced Monday January 6.

In a joint statement, the two groups said they had filed an appeal before a US appeals court to challenge the process of reviewing the takeover of US Steel by Nippon Steel, believing that President Biden had used his influence in a manner undue for political purposes. Joe Biden announced Friday that he was blocking this acquisition at $14.9 billion, believing that it would pose “risks” for national security.

A new examination of the merger project requested

With this decision, President Biden “ignored the rule of law to gain favor” American unions in the steel and steel industries “support his political program”accuse the two groups in their press release. Additionally, the committee responsible for foreign investment in the United States has not completed its regulatory review process “in good faith”they continue. The steelmakers are calling on the courts to order a new examination of the merger project.

On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, for his part, asked Washington to explain the risks for “national security” which led him to reject this acquisition, in order to “dispel worry” Japanese industrialists for their investments.

The operation found itself at the heart of the presidential campaign in the United States this fall, because it primarily concerns Pennsylvania, an electorally strategic state and cradle of the American steelworks. Japanese and American business groups urged American authorities in mid-September not to succumb to political pressure when examining the proposed acquisition of US Steel.