On Monday, the steel companies U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration over its decision to block a merger between the two companies.
As reported by ABC News, the decision last week by the outgoing administration was made on the basis of national security. The proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel, the second-largest producer of steel in the United States, by the Japanese company Nippon would have been made for about $15 billion.
In the lawsuit, the companies allege that the decision was a political one, made in the midst of a heated election season and thus hindering the impartial nature of the government review of the proposed merger.
“President Biden’s Order is the culmination of a months-long campaign to subvert and exploit the United States’ national security apparatus for the purpose of keeping a promise made by the President and his advisors to the USW leadership,” said the two companies in a joint statement announcing the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Biden’s decision was made after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) ultimately decided to not give a recommendation on whether or not to block the deal, thus leaving it up to the president himself. Biden announced his decision on Friday.
“Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure,” said Biden at the time.
The fight over the steel merger will most likely carry over into the second presidency of Donald Trump, who will be sworn back into office on January 20th. President-elect Trump has long advocated for a “Made in America” approach to manufacturing, leading some to believe that he might uphold Biden’s decision to block the merger.
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