In Pennsylvania, of all places
Biden opposes symbolic takeover
March 14, 2024, 7:00 p.m
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Nippon Steel wants to take over the traditional company US Steel for around 14.1 billion US dollars. Biden’s opponent Trump has already announced that he will stop the “terrible” deal if he wins the election. Now the incumbent US President is also taking on the matter.
US President Joe Biden has spoken out against the takeover of the steel producer US Steel by the Japanese company Nippon Steel. US Steel has been a “symbolic American steel company” for more than a century and must remain US owned and controlled, Biden said in Washington.
The takeover agreed by both companies at the end of last year with a volume of 14.1 billion US dollars (around 13 billion euros) has become an explosive issue in the US election campaign. Biden’s predecessor and likely challenger in the November election, Donald Trump, has announced that he would stop the “terrible” deal “immediately” if he wins the election.
Biden: I stand with the steelworkers
The planned takeover is also encountering resistance within the ranks of Biden’s Democratic Party and among unions. US Steel is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is one of the states that will determine the outcome of the presidential election.
Against this background, Biden is prepared to snub his ally Japan with his positioning against the purchase by Nippon Steel. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to make a state visit to Washington in April.
“It is important that we continue to have strong steel companies run by American steelworkers,” emphasized the US President. “I told the steelworkers I was behind them and I meant it,” he assured.
However, Biden left it open whether his government would block the takeover. The US government is currently assessing whether the deal would harm US security interests.
In a joint statement, Nippon Steel and US Steel said they were confident that their merger would be approved by the US government. The review will show that the takeover would strengthen jobs, competition and “economic and national security.”