Japan's Prime Minister Ishiba Urges Biden to Address Serious Business Concerns Over Steel Acquisition Block
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Tokyo, Jan 13 (NationPress) Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba urged US President Joe Biden to address serious concerns in both Japanese and US business sectors following Biden's order to obstruct Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel, as reported by local media on Monday.
The Prime Minister articulated this request during a virtual meeting with Biden, as noted in a report by Jiji Press.
Strong concerns are being voiced not only in Japan but also within the US business community. I emphatically urged that these concerns be addressed,” Ishiba informed reporters, yet he did not reveal Biden's response, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
On January 3, President Biden decided to block the acquisition of US Steel by Nippon Steel, citing national security risks, while encouraging the two companies to fully and permanently abandon their plans.
On Saturday, both Nippon Steel and US Steel announced that the Biden administration postponed until June an order for the Japanese firm to relinquish its $14.1 billion bid for US Steel.
Nippon Steel's CEO, Eiji Hashimoto, claimed that Biden's decision to block the acquisition was politically motivated, while emphasizing that the company intends to pursue the takeover deal.
Hashimoto remarked last week that the Japanese steel giant will persist in its efforts for a successful buyout of US Steel, having filed lawsuits against the US government, as well as against rival steel manufacturer Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., its CEO, and the president of the United Steelworkers labor union.
“We firmly believe that the various facts that will emerge through the litigation will reveal that this decision clearly violated the constitution and laws,” Hashimoto stated.
“A review of the deal by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) was not appropriately conducted due to President Biden's unlawful intervention,” he added. “We can never accept this.”
Hashimoto's comments came a day after Nippon Steel announced that it filed a lawsuit asserting that Biden “ignored the rule of law to gain favor with” the United Steelworkers union, a significant supporter of his Democratic Party that has opposed the acquisition by the Japanese firm.
The two steel companies were requesting the court to nullify Biden's order blocking the acquisition and to instruct CFIUS to conduct a new review of the deal. Biden's order mandates that both companies abandon the transaction “no later than 30 days after the date of this order, unless such date is extended” by CFIUS.
