Biden admin delays enforcement of order blocking Nippon Steel, US Steel deal By Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration will suspend enforcement of an executive order this month requiring Nippon Steel to abandon a $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel, the companies said on Saturday.

US President Joe Biden on January 3 blocked Nippon Steel’s planned acquisition of US Steel on national security grounds, and his Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week that the proposed deal had received a “thorough interagency review”. by the review body, the Committee on Foreign Affairs.Investment in the United States.

The delay will give the courts time to review a legal challenge the parties filed earlier this month against Biden’s order.The parties previously had 30 days to stop the deal.

“We are pleased that CFIUS has extended until June 18, 2025 the requirement of President Biden’s executive order that the parties permanently withdraw from the transaction,” the companies said in a joint statement.

“We look forward to completing a transaction that provides the best possible future for the American steel industry and all of our stakeholders,” they said.

US Steel and Nippon Steel argued in a lawsuit Monday that the CFIUS review was tainted by Biden’s long-standing opposition to the deal, denying them the right to a fair review. They asked a federal appeals court to overturn Biden’s decision, allowing provide them with a new review to close the merger.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary chairs the CFIUS panel, which reviews foreign acquisitions and other investment deals by U.S. companies for national security reasons. the committee could not reach a consensus on whether Biden should approve or reject it, leaving it up to him to decide.

Both Biden and his successor, Republican Donald Trump, had spoken out against the Japanese company’s acquisition of the American steelmaker as the candidates courted union votes in the November election that swept Trump.

CFIUS has rarely rejected deals involving close allies of the Group of Seven, which includes Japan.