Michael Mann 
CNN
—
President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly said he intends to block a Japanese firm’s $15 billion takeover bid of US Steel upon taking office, saying the former American giant can eventually stand on its own.
“Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again,” he said on his Truth Social platform Monday. “As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!”
The Pittsburgh-based company was formed in 1901 as a merger of the nation’s leading steel companies, including Carnegie Steel Corp, engineered by financiers JP Morgan and Charles Schwab. The new company became the world’s first company valued at more than $1 billion.
But in recent years, US Steel has fallen far below other American steel companies in output and stock market value. And the US steel industry is a shell of its former self, with no company among the 10 largest steel producers around the globe.
In September, the intended buyer, Nippon Steel, was expected to re-file its application for a national security review by American regulators, buying Japan’s largest steelmaker an additional 90 days to close its acquisition of an American rival after political opposition emerged in an election year.
The surprise development allowed the steelmakers to reset the clock, potentially keeping the controversial deal alive. However, Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee, as well as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had all voiced their opposition.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a team of Cabinet-level appointees that reviews all deals of a certain size involving US entities, had been studying the takeover of Pittsburgh-based US Steel for several months on the grounds of national security.
With the White House signaling it would block the deal, and CFIUS officials wanting to operate outside the pressure of political calendars, an extension of the timeline seemed the best outcome, CNN previously reported.
CNN has reached out to the Tokyo-based firm for comment.
US Steel said in September it would be forced to lay off workers and shutter mills without Nippon’s backing. It had put itself up for sale last year after receiving an unsolicited $7 billion takeover offer from Ohio-based Cleveland Cliffs. The $14.9 billion offer from Nippon Steel resulted from that sale process.
