WASHINGTON − President Joe Biden on Friday blocked the sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese buyer in an extraordinary use of presidential power he said protects an American industry vital to national security.
Biden issued an order blocking Nippon Steel Corp.’s proposed $14.9 billion purchase of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, citing his presidential authority under the Defense Production Act of 1950 and calling the steel industry “critical for resilient supply chains.”
In a statement, Biden said U.S. Steel “will remain a proud American company” that is “American-owned (and) American-operated by American union steelworkers.”
Biden, who was endorsed by the United Steelworkers union before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential election, had publicly opposed the sale, which was announced in December 2023.
For months, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States reviewed the deal with Nippon Steel for national security risks but failed to reach a consensus and referred the decision to Biden in December. The panel reviews the effect transactions may have on national security.
U.S. Steel has operated out of Pittsburgh since 1901 and is the nation’s second-largest steel manufacturer. U.S. Steel employs 21,803 workers, roughly half the workforce it boasted 15 years ago after years of setbacks in the U.S. steel industry.
“It is my solemn responsibility as President to ensure that, now and long into the future, America has a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry that can continue to power our national sources of strength at home and abroad,” Biden said. “And it is a fulfillment of that responsibility to block foreign ownership of this vital American company.”
