President Biden is likely to announce a decision as soon as Friday on whether to approve Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of US Steel, according to people familiar with the process.
The president has said it in the past he objected the deal, saying it was vital that US Steel “remain a domestically owned and operated American steel company.”
In recent days, Mr. Biden’s top advisers have had extensive discussions with him about whether or not to approve the deal. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also spoken directly to the President about the matter.
US Steel has indicated it is likely to file lawsuits, including against the Biden administration, if the president blocks the acquisition, sources said. Cleveland-Cliffs, which lost its bid to US Steel, could also be named, as could its president Lourenco Goncalves and US Steelworkers president Dave McCall.
On Tuesday, Japan-based Nippon Steel proposed giving the US government direct veto authority over any changes to US Steel’s production capacity. The proposal represented a minor change to a recommendation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a review board known as CFIUS, intended to ease concerns that Nippon Steel’s proposed purchase of US Steel could lead to a decline in domestic steel production and a reduction in its workforce in the US.
An earlier proposal suggested that an independent majority American board appointed by CFIUS would make production decisions. That proposal was presented to the White House on Monday for Mr. Biden’s review.
The proposed change in the so-called mitigation agreement would give all decision-making power over changes in production capacity to the US government.
According to a source familiar with the process, Nippon Steel’s new proposal offers a 10-year guarantee that it would not reduce production capacity at US Steel mills in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Texas, California and Arkansas without the approval of ‘a CFIUS panel, which is headed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Nippon Steel’s proposed takeover previously faced a Jan. 7 deadline, but last week the company said it had extended the closing date for its takeover to the first quarter of 2025.
Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who is a member of CFIUS, was concerned about the deal’s impact on labor and opposed the deal, sources said.
Other agencies that have seats on CFIUS, including the Justice, Treasury and State departments, did not object.