Nippon-U.S. Steel deal gets foreign approvals but lacks U.S. approvals needed to move forward
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel announced foreign approvals for the Japanese acquisition of the American company on Thursday.
But the companies still need approvals from the U.S. government.
In a joint press release on Thursday, Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel announced they secured needed regulatory approvals from foreign governments and agencies outside the United States for Nippon's $14.9 billion acquisition of the Pittsburgh-based steel company, approved by U.S. Steel shareholders in April.
In a statement, U.S. Steel CEO Dave Burritt noted, "We are pleased with the regulatory approvals received, as they are a clear indication that the transaction with Nippon Steel is pro-competitive and supports the strategic merits of foreign investment."
But it's U.S. government approvals that are more important, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is leading an inter-agency panel examining the national security implications of the deal, as she told KDKA-TV in February.
"We take national security very seriously, and our job is to protect it, and we will do that," she said in February.
Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump oppose the deal, along with the United Steelworkers International Union. But there is no indication yet whether the Yellen-led committee on foreign investment in the U.S. or the Justice Department will block the transaction.
"I know that they are going through their regulatory process," Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said. "But the chief concern of mine is making sure we protect the jobs, we grow the industry to make sure American-made steel continues to be made in the Mon Valley here in western Pennsylvania."
Davis, who lives in the Mon Valley, shares the concerns of many local lawmakers about the future of local steelmaking and jobs if a foreign acquisition goes through without safeguards. No word on when U.S. agencies will complete their review.