A U.S. national security panel has reached an impasse over its review of U.S. Steel Corp.’s sale to Nippon Steel Corp., a procedural development that opens the door for President Joe Biden to block the deal.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States transferred the case to Biden’s desk on Monday, the day before the deadline, according to people familiar with the matter. Supporters were told the group was unable to reach consensus, meaning the final decision rested with Biden.
Biden has long voiced his opposition to the deal and is said to still be planning to block it, although the White House has never explicitly said he would block it. He has 15 days to announce his decision and has repeatedly said that U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned and operated.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he would stop it, but the timeline means the issue will be resolved before he takes office.
The companies have said they plan to challenge any rejection in court.
The deal was first announced in December 2023 but became an issue in the US presidential election due to opposition from the powerful United Steelworkers union. However, some local union officials, mayors and federal lawmakers have expressed support and called on Biden to allow the deal to go ahead.
The companies argued that the acquisition would create a company with global scale to compete with China in key areas, while the union said Nippon Steel offered too little firm commitment to the future of the company’s unionized factories.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without any modifications to the text.