US Steel CEO David Burritt spoke with Fox Business' Lydia Hu about their lawsuit against the Biden administration for its decision to block the company's merger with Nippon Steel.
Nippon Steel and US Steel filed suit challenging the case The Biden administration The order blocks a nearly $15 billion deal for Japanese companies to buy American steelmakers.
The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, asks the court to overturn the order of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and President Biden To block sales.
The companies also filed a second lawsuit against competitor Cleveland-Cliffs, its CEO Lorenzo Goncalves, and United Steelworkers (USW) President David McCall. It accused them of illegally coordinating to block the deal and reducing US Steel's ability to compete.
“From the beginning of the process, both Nippon Steel and US Steel engaged in good faith with all parties to discuss how the transaction would enhance, not threaten, the national security of the United States, by revitalizing communities dependent on American steel, the American steel supply chain, and countering threats from China. strengthening America's domestic steel industry,” the companies said in a prepared statement Monday. “Nippon Steel is the only partner willing and able to make the necessary investment.”
US Steel CEO: Government Failed Our Country After Canceling Nippon Steel Deal
President Biden blocked Nippon Steel Corp's multi-billion takeover of United States Steel Corp. (Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Biden blocked the deal on Friday, citing national security concerns.
“A committee of national security and commerce experts has determined that this acquisition poses a risk to America's national security,” a White House spokesman said. Robin Patterson said in a statement. “President Biden will never hesitate to protect this nation's security, its infrastructure and the resilience of its supply chain.”
Biden's argument, however, has sparked pushback.
US Steel CEO David Burritt warned that if the firm Acquisition by Nippon Steel Through the fall, the company will likely close steel mills in Pennsylvania's Monongahela Valley and Gary, Indiana, which were slated to receive multibillion-dollar upgrades with cash contributed by Nippon after the sale closes.
Nippon Steel Corp. Its logo is displayed at the company's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan on March 18, 2019. (Reuters/Yuka Obayashi/File Photo/Reuters Photo)
“We've done everything right with Nippon as a company,” Burritt told Fox Business correspondent Lydia Hook in an interview Monday. “We did everything right. The government failed us. They failed because they didn't follow the process. And we're going to right that wrong. They failed our workers. They failed our communities. They failed our country. They failed our country. did. Asia's best ally and they encouraged China to ignore the rule of law.”
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USW President David McCall said the union is reviewing the companies' complaints and will “vigorously defend against these baseless allegations.”
“By blocking Nippon Steel's attempt to acquire US Steel, the Biden administration has protected vital US interests, protected our national security and helped protect a domestic steel industry that underpins our nation's critical supply chain.
US Steel and Nippon Steel announced they are filing a joint lawsuit against the US government and others following President Biden's move to block the deal. With Fox Business' Lydia Hu More.
Nippon Steel has pledged to invest $2.7 billion in US Steel's Mon Valley Works and Gary Works as part of a modernization project aimed at making the facilities more competitive with international rivals. Nippon also said it will retain its name, brand and headquarters US steel And refrain from layoffs through 2026 through the deal.
Before accepting Nippon's offer, US Steel rejected Cleveland-Cliffs' $7 billion buyout offer in 2023.
A tugboat pushes a barge near the United States Steel Corporation Clairton Coke Works facility on September 9, 2024 in Clairton, Pennsylvania. (Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File/Getty Images)
Nippon and US Steel said in a press release Monday that Biden used “undue influence to advance his political agenda.”
The companies, however, face the incoming Trump administration, which has also vowed to block the deal.
Trump questioned the proposed sale in a post on Truth Social on Monday.
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“Why would they want to sell US Steel now when tariffs would make it a much more profitable and valuable company?” Trump wrote. “Wouldn't it be great to see US Steel, the greatest company in the world, back to greatness? It could happen very quickly!”
Fox Business' Lydia Hu, Eric Revell and Yael Halon contributed to this report.