US Steel and the Japanese company that sought to acquire it are suing the Biden administration after the president announced he was blocking a proposed deal for the iconic American manufacturer.
US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel said in a statement Monday that President Joe Biden “ignored the rule of law” in order to curry favor with the United Steelworkers, the union representing many US Steel employees, when he announced Friday that it would not authorize the acquisition. go through.
Separately, US Steel and Nippon said they were also suing union president David McCall; as well as the head of a rival Ohio-based mining company, Cleveland-Cliffs, accusing them of illegally coordinating to undermine the deal.
Nippon Steel had proposed a $14 billion deal to buy US Steel, but the deal, favored by US Steel executives, was bogged down in a national security review by a Treasury Department committee tasked with evaluate proposals for foreign participation.
Ultimately, that committee failed to agree on whether Japanese ownership posed a security risk and asked Biden to make a final decision. In announcing his veto of the deal, Biden said taking the company out of American hands would harm critical supply chains and put jobs at risk.
The Treasury committee, along with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland, are also named in the suit.
Representatives for the Biden administration and Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuits.
McCall, the head of the metalworkers union, said in a statement that he was reviewing the complaint.
“By blocking Nippon Steel’s attempt to acquire US Steel, the Biden administration protected vital U.S. interests, safeguarded our national security, and helped preserve a domestic steel industry that underpins critical supply chains of our country,” he said.
After the lawsuits were announced Monday, President-elect Donald Trump, who voiced opposition to the Japan deal during his election campaign last year, posted about the situation on social media.
“Why would they want to sell US Steel now when the tariffs will make it a much more profitable and valuable company,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Wouldn’t it be nice if US Steel, once the largest company in the world, once again led the charge to greatness? Anything can happen very quickly!
Steve Kopack contributed.
nbcnews