President Joe Biden on Jan. 3 blocked the $15-billion sale of U.S. Steel Corp. to Nippon Steel Corp. under the federal Defense Production Act—citing national security concerns and "credible evidence" that the Japan-based steelmaker "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States."
Nippon Steel had, in recent days, offered to allow any U.S. president to stop layoffs or cuts in production at U.S. Steel as part of its bid to get the deal approved. Biden criticized foreign steel companies all over the world in an accompanying statement for illegally dumping steel in other markets at artificially inflated prices, harming the domestic steel industry, he said.
