Following the president’s announcement that he was obstructing a potential sale for the venerable American producer, U.S. Steel and the Japanese company that had attempted to purchase it are suing the Biden administration.
When President Joe Biden declared on Friday that he would not permit the transaction to proceed, U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel said in a statement on Monday that Biden “ignored the rule of law” to curry favor with United Steelworkers, the union that represents many of U.S. Steel’s employees.
In addition, U.S. Steel and Nippon announced that they were suing David McCall, the union president, and Cleveland-Cliffs, the leader of a competing mining company in Ohio, alleging that they had unlawfully conspired to thwart the deal.
A $14 billion offer by Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel was thwarted by a Treasury Department committee that evaluates bids for foreign ownership, despite the fact that U.S. Steel management supported the deal.
That group ultimately approached Biden for a final decision after failing to reach a consensus on whether Nippon ownership constituted a security risk. Biden claimed that removing the company from American control would jeopardize vital supply networks and threaten jobs when he announced his disapproval of the agreement.
The lawsuit also names Attorney General Merrick Garland, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and the Treasury committee.
“This acquisition would create risk for American national security, according to a committee of national security and trade experts,” a Biden administration official said in an emailed statement. “President Biden will never hesitate to protect the security of this nation, its infrastructure, and the resilience of its supply chains.”
In a statement, McCall, the head of the steelworkers union, said he was looking into the lawsuit.
“By blocking Nippon Steel s attempt to acquire U.S. Steel, the Biden administration protected vital U.S. interests, safeguarded our national security and helped preserve a domestic steel industry that underpins our country s critical supply chains,” said Biden.
Cleveland-Cliffs president, chairman, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves charged that Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel were attempting to “play the blame game.”
“Today s lawsuits against the U.S. Government, the USW, and Cleveland-Cliffs represent a shameless effort to scapegoat others for U.S. Steel s and Nippon Steel s self-inflicted disaster,” Goncalves said in a statement.
Not just the USW and Cleveland-Cliffs were aware of the acquisition’s detrimental effects on national security. Bipartisan opposition to this accord was immediately raised, especially by President Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to thwart it, Goncalves continued.
President-elect Donald Trump, who had voiced his disapproval of the Nippon agreement throughout his campaign last year, took to social media to discuss the subject after the suits were announced Monday.
He stated on his Truth Social platform, “Why would they want to sell U.S. Steel now when tariffs will make it a much more profitable and valuable company?” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if U.S. Steel, which was once the best firm in the world, took the top once more? Everything may happen so fast!
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