January 8, 2025

Flags are decorated on the fence in front of the U.S. Steel Corp. Edgar Thomson Works steel plant in Braddock, Pennsylvania, U.S., Monday, Aug. 14, 2023.

Justin Merriman | Bloomberg | Getty Images

US President Biden’s obstruction violates the Constitution Nippon SteelBid $14.9 billion United States Steel Corporation The companies claimed in a lawsuit filed on Monday that they obtained false national security clearances.

The companies want a federal court to overturn Biden’s deal-breaking decision so they can win approval again through a new national security review that is free from political influence.

The lawsuit accuses Biden of undermining decisions by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews foreign investments for national security risks, and violating companies’ rights to a fair review.

The merger has become highly politicized ahead of the November U.S. presidential election, with both Democrat Joe Biden and Republican President-elect Donald Trump pledging to end it as they woo voters in Pennsylvania, the swing state where U.S. Steel is headquartered. One merge. David McCall, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union, opposed the partnership.

Both Trump and Biden claimed that even if the Japanese company offered to move its U.S. headquarters to Pittsburgh, home to the U.S. steelmaker, the company should remain U.S.-owned and pledged to abide by all agreements reached between U.S. Steel Corp. and U.S. Steel Corp. protocol.

The companies claimed that Biden was trying to terminate the deal “to curry favor with Pennsylvania USW leadership in his bid for re-election.”

“CFIUS failed to conduct a good-faith, national security-focused regulatory review process as a result of President Biden’s improper influence to advance his political agenda,” the companies said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit echoes statements made by the two companies in a December letter to CFIUS obtained by Reuters, indicating that the companies are making good on their threat to sue and will continue to work to get the deal approved.

The future of the lawsuit, which also targets Attorney General Merrick Garland and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who oversees the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), is unclear. Experts say courts generally have great deference to CFIUS in defining national security.

The two companies are still right cleveland cliffsIts chief executive Lourenco Goncalves and USW union president David McCall “for their illegal and coordinated actions aimed at stopping the deal.”

The Justice and Treasury Departments, Cleveland Cliffs and USW also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last week, Biden blocked the proposed purchase, citing national security concerns, a potentially fatal blow to the controversial program after a year of review.

US Steel was founded in 1901 by American giants such as Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan and Charles Schwab, and was closely related to the Great Depression and the aftermath of World War II. Industrial recovery is closely linked.

The company has been under pressure after several quarters of declining revenue and profits, making it an attractive takeover target for rivals looking to expand their U.S. market share.

About The Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *