NEW YORK: A US government panel could not reach consensus on whether US Steel's acquisition by Japan's Nippon Steel threatened Washington's national security, with the White House now likely to block the deal, a report said Monday.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which vets such acquisitions, was deadlocked on the controversial US$14.9 billion transaction, reported the Washington Post late Monday, citing two sources who described the panel's final evaluation.
The newspaper described the committee's non-determination as boosting the odds the deal would be blocked by President Joe Biden, who has sharply criticized the Nippon takeover for months, pleasing leaders of the United Steelworkers union.
Other powerful US politicians who have slammed the transaction include President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming vice president, JD Vance.
Nippon said the Japanese company had not been notified by CFIUS of its decision.
"As the President considers a final decision, we urge him to reflect on the great lengths that we have gone to address any national security concerns that have been raised and the significant commitments we have made to grow US Steel, protect American jobs, and strengthen the entire American steel industry, which will enhance American national security," Nippon said in a statement.
"We are confident that our transaction should and will be approved if it is fairly evaluated on its merits."
Nippon has argued that the transaction would pump much-needed capital to update plants in Pennsylvania's Mon Valley, the oldest of which dates to 1875.
The company has described the transaction as a lifeline to Pennsylvania's much-diminished steel industry, vowing to keep US Steel's headquarters in Pittsburgh.
But the USW has characterised Nippon's commitments as untrustworthy, while slamming US Steel executives as being motivated by the huge windfalls they would likely make from the sale.
"The proposed US Steel-Nippon transaction represents nothing more than corporate greed, selling out American workers and jeopardizing the long-term future of the domestic steel industry and our national security," USW President David McCall said Monday as he urged Biden to block the transaction.