What to know about Joe Biden’s decision to block U.S. Steel sale

Just over a year after the deal between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel Corporation was announced, President Joe Biden, in one of his last acts in office, took action to block the sale, saying it would “create risk” for U.S. national security. 

Below, City & State provides a look at how the discourse surrounding U.S. Steel has evolved over the past year, and how Pennsylvania officials are reacting to Biden’s decision to prohibit the sale to Nippon Steel. 

What to know about the sale

In a joint announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel Corporation and U.S. Steel Corporation revealed that Nippon Steel – Japan’s largest steel manufacturer – would acquire U.S. Steel in a $14.9 billion sale. 

The all-cash sale would have been valued at $55 per share, with equity valued at $14.1 billion. With the assumption of debt, the total enterprise value came out to $14.9 billion.

When the sale was first announced, Nippon Steel Corporation President Eiji Hashimoto said it “builds on our presence in the United States, and we are committed to honoring all of U.S. Steel’s existing union contracts.” U.S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt said the sale “benefits the United States – ensuring a competitive, domestic steel industry while strengthening our presence globally.”

Nippon Steel said the sale would ensure that U.S. Steel would retain its name, brand and Pittsburgh-based headquarters. 

Biden says sale would ‘create risk for our national security’

Both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have publicly opposed the sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese Steel manufacturer. 

On Dec. 2, 2024, Trump posted on Truth Social that he is “totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” promising that he would block the deal from occurring. 

Biden ultimately beat Trump to it, announcing on Friday that he was prohibiting the sale from taking place, citing the Defense Production Act of 1950. 

“A strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority and is critical for resilient supply chains.  That is because steel powers our country: our infrastructure, our auto industry, and our defense industrial base,” Biden said Friday in a statement. “As a committee of national security and trade experts across the executive branch determined, this acquisition would place one of America’s largest steel producers under foreign control and create risk for our national security and our critical supply chains. So, that is why I am taking action to block this deal.”

Business and political leaders react

Biden’s move to block the U.S. Steel sale drew a mix of reactions from Pennsylvania political leaders. 

Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who announced his opposition to the deal in 2023, said Friday that he was dedicated to trusting the position of union steelworkers. “I'm going to follow and trust the wisdom and the judgment of the working union members here, because my goal is their goal, to protect the way of life here and to allow that to endure,” he said in a video posted to X.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement that his administration was engaged in conversations with U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, and Friday that “we must find a long-term solution that protects the future of steelmaking in Western Pennsylvania and the workers who built U.S. Steel and built this country.”

“As next steps play out and as I have expressed directly to U.S. Steel leadership, I expect U.S. Steel to uphold their commitments to Western Pennsylvania, refrain from threatening the jobs and livelihoods of the Pennsylvanians who work at the Mon Valley Works and at U.S. Steel HQ and their families, and work collaboratively to ensure the future of American steelmaking takes place right here in our Commonwealth,” Shapiro said. “I also expect any other potential buyers to demonstrate the strong commitments to capital investment and protecting and growing Pennsylvania jobs that Nippon Steel placed on the table during my continued dialogue with their leadership – and I will continue to engage with all interested parties directly as I continue to fight for Pennsylvania.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser criticized Biden’s decision to block the deal. Meuser said in a statement that claims about the deal’s risks to national security are “baseless,” and called Biden’s move a “politically motivated decision.”

“His actions suggest he doesn’t understand the difference between an adversary like China and an ally like Japan. This shortsighted move risks thousands of current good-paying union jobs, halts critical investments in modernizing steel plants, and undermines a plan to create nearly 6,000 new jobs over the next several years,” Meuser said. “It sacrifices Pennsylvania’s economic future for political friends, leaving thousands of families and communities uncertain about their future.”

Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward also ripped Biden’s decision, and looked to cast blame on Shapiro, as well. 

“While Biden made the final decision, the fallout of his decision is ultimately a Pennsylvania problem. And Gov. Josh Shapiro has failed to demonstrate leadership regarding any potential future for the Mon Valley. Shapiro has been silent on the acquisition and offered no solutions, despite having the economic development resources to do so,” Ward said on Friday. “Shapiro’s claims ‘over the last year, he has worked to bring the parties involved together to protect Pennsylvania jobs’ but publicly there has been no evidence to support those actions leaving Pennsylvania workers uncertain about their future.”

“The bottom line is U.S. Steel needs major investment to continue operating in southwestern Pennsylvania and Nippon’s offer is currently the only viable option. The local Steelworkers union has done a terrific job of bringing Nippon to the table and negotiating tremendous concessions,” she added. “I am hoping President Trump will consider taking a second look at the local union negotiated concessions and do what needs to be done to let the deal go through or offer a solution that will prevent thousands upon thousands of southwestern Pennsylvania jobs from disappearing over the next five years.

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, a Democrat, said it’s important that any deal ensures that investments are made in the state’s Mon Valley region. "Throughout this process, I've maintained that finding a path forward for steel operations in the Mon Valley is an important part of a thriving Allegheny County,” Innamorato said in a statement. “Ultimately this is a federal decision, but regardless of if operations are owned by US Steel or another entity, we are committed to working collaboratively with all partners to make sure the Mon Valley is invested in and has the resources it needs."

In a statement released Friday, Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel blasted Biden’s decision, highlighting that the deal would have included a $1 billion investment in U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works facility.

“We are dismayed by President Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U. S. Steel, which reflects a clear violation of due process and the law governing (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States). Instead of abiding by the law, the process was manipulated to advance President Biden’s political agenda,” the two companies said. “The President’s statement and Order do not present any credible evidence of a national security issue, making clear that this was a political decision. Following President Biden’s decision, we are left with no choice but to take all appropriate action to protect our legal rights.”The steelmakers added: “Blocking this transaction means denying billions of committed investment to extend the life of U.S. Steel’s aging facilities and putting thousands of good-paying, family-sustaining union jobs at risk. In short, we believe that President Biden has sacrificed the future of American steelworkers for his own political agenda.”