Nippon Steel sent a delegation to Washington to meet with U.S. lawmakers and analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CISS) to discuss the U.S. Steel takeover.
In December 2023, Nippon Steel announced the acquisition of U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion. The announcement triggered a wave of debate in the United States. Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, said, Biden believes that even acquisitions by allied companies deserve careful scrutiny in terms of security and impact on supply chains. On January 1, 2024, former US President Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stated in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that opposition to the deal was driven by part of "xenophobia" in the United States and that there was in fact no cause for concern.
On January 22, Brainard told a seminar at the Brookings Institution, one of the leading think tanks in Washington, D.C., that "the United States needs to carefully examine the national security implications of the sale of a U.S. steelmaker." We have enacted a law to ensure national security and supply chain resilience. The steel industry is important for protecting national security and is a key link in the supply chain. Under our laws, this transaction does deserve serious scrutiny." The words echoed a statement she made on Dec. 21, 2023, after the Nippon Steel announcement: "This looks like the type of deal set up by congressional mandates and the Biden administration to strengthen CFIUS investigations."
U.S. Steel is headquartered in Pennsylvania, which is also a "major swing state where attitudes are not clear" in the November 2024 presidential election. Foreign media believe that in terms of the acquisition, if the people of the state are not satisfied, it is difficult for Biden to bear the relevant risks.
Clark Packard, a fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Washington, D.C., said in an interview with foreign media that the CFIUS review is unlikely to be completed before the November 2024 election. It is likely that CFIUS and all stakeholders will be slow to factor it into the general election. Likewise, the deal is likely to be approved on the spot once the election is over.