US delays enforcement of order to block Nippon Steel merger

TOKYO: US authorities have extended Japan’s Nippon Steel’s refusal to acquire its American competitor after President Joe Biden blocked the dealthe company said on Sunday (January 12).

Biden cited national security concerns when he blocked the $14.9 billion sale of US Steel to the Japanese giant.

Accusing the president of “unlawful interference,” the company filed a judicial review with the US Court of Appeals.

The administration will now delay implementation of the order until June 18, Nippon Steel and US Steel said, extending the original 30-day deadline.

“We are pleased that CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) has extended until June 18, 2025 the requirement of President Biden’s executive order that the parties definitively withdraw from the deal,” the companies said in a joint statement. .

“We look forward to completing an agreement that will ensure the best possible future for the U.S. steel industry and all of our stakeholders,” the company added.

Although the former president’s decision to block the transaction had bipartisan support at home, it drew sharp criticism from the Japanese government and business community.

Japan’s industry minister called it “incomprehensible,” and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba urged Washington “clearly explain” its rationale.

Japan and the United States of America are the main foreign investors.

“It is important to properly deal with this issue without undermining the overall picture of the Japan-US alliance,” Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Sunday.

“I will ask the American side to remove the concern that is spreading in the business community,” he said during the televised debate.