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https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/3/15/biden-opposes-japanese-takeover-of-us-steel-touts-american-steel-workers
United States President Joe Biden has opposed the proposed sale of a Pittsburgh-based steel manufacturer to Japan’s largest steel producer, insisting on the need for “strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers”.
Biden’s opposition to US Steel’s acquisition by Nippon Steel comes as the Democrat is looking to shore up support among unions and blue-collar workers in the key swing state of Pennsylvania ahead of November’s presidential election.
“I told our steelworkers I have their backs, and I meant it,” Biden said in a statement on Thursday.
“US Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.”
US Steel shares slid 6.4 percent following Biden’s remarks, after sinking the previous day on news the president would express his opposition to the deal.
US Steel, the second-largest steel producer in the US, announced in December that it had agreed to be bought by Nippon Steel in a $14.1bn takeover.
The announcement provoked mixed reactions in the US, with some welcoming the prospect of an injection of new capital and technology and others decrying the selling off of an iconic American brand.
The proposed acquisition is currently under review by the Department of the Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is supposed to make decisions without regard to political considerations.
United States President Joe Biden has opposed the proposed sale of a Pittsburgh-based steel manufacturer to Japan’s largest steel producer, insisting on the need for “strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers”.
Biden’s opposition to US Steel’s acquisition by Nippon Steel comes as the Democrat is looking to shore up support among unions and blue-collar workers in the key swing state of Pennsylvania ahead of November’s presidential election.
“I told our steelworkers I have their backs, and I meant it,” Biden said in a statement on Thursday.
“US Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.”
US Steel shares slid 6.4 percent following Biden’s remarks, after sinking the previous day on news the president would express his opposition to the deal.
US Steel, the second-largest steel producer in the US, announced in December that it had agreed to be bought by Nippon Steel in a $14.1bn takeover.
The announcement provoked mixed reactions in the US, with some welcoming the prospect of an injection of new capital and technology and others decrying the selling off of an iconic American brand.
The proposed acquisition is currently under review by the Department of the Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is supposed to make decisions without regard to political considerations.
