President Biden blocked the $14 billion takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel of Japan in an announcement on Friday based on grounds that the sale posed a threat to national security.
The decision was an extraordinary use of executive power, particularly for a president who is just weeks from leaving office. It is also a departure from America’s long-established culture of open investment, one that could have wide-ranging implications for the U.S. economy. Although the politics of the move were clear, Mr. Biden emphasized that he was acting to protect national security.
“It is my solemn responsibility as president to ensure that, now and long into the future, America has a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry that can continue to power our national sources of strength at home and abroad,” Mr. Biden said in a statement on Friday morning. “And it is a fulfillment of that responsibility to block foreign ownership of this vital American company.”
Mr. Biden’s move to stop the transaction could cause foreign investors to rethink the wisdom of acquiring American firms in sensitive industries that are based in politically important states. It could also roil relations with Japan, a close ally of the United States and one of America’s largest sources of foreign investment.
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