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CFIUS

Biden Blocked Nippon Steel’s $14.9 Billion U.S. Steel Deal—Then It Went Through

Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel in January 2025, but a new review led to conditional approval and the partnership’s completion in June.

By TheFinanceBase Team 3 min read
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President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel on January 3, 2025, citing national security. The deal, reported by the Associated Press at $14.9 billion in cash and debt, did not stay blocked: President Donald Trump later approved it subject to conditions, and Nippon Steel said the partnership was completed on June 18, 2025. Shares fell after Biden’s decision, but the available reporting does not establish a precise percentage or closing-price decline.

What happened to the U.S. Steel sale?

The proposed acquisition was announced in December 2023. On January 3, 2025, Biden issued an order prohibiting it under Section 721 of the Defense Production Act, which gives the president authority to address certain foreign investments on national-security grounds. The order was published in the Federal Register on January 13. The Associated Press reported that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) had not reached consensus on potential risks before sending its report to Biden.

The January order was not the final outcome. On April 7, 2025, Trump directed CFIUS to conduct a new review and recommend a course of action within 45 days, including whether proposed mitigation measures were adequate. CFIUS submitted its recommendation on May 21. Trump’s June 13 order said the national-security risk could be adequately mitigated if its conditions were met. Nippon Steel announced that it had finalized its partnership with U.S. Steel on June 18; on July 1, it said related litigation had been voluntarily dismissed after completion.

Date Development
December 2023 The companies announced the proposed transaction, reported by the Associated Press at $14.9 billion in cash and debt.
January 3, 2025 Biden prohibited the acquisition on national-security grounds.
April 7, 2025 Trump directed a new CFIUS review, with a recommendation due within 45 days.
May 21, 2025 CFIUS submitted its recommendation, according to the June order.
June 13, 2025 Trump issued a conditional approval order.
June 18, 2025 Nippon Steel said the partnership was finalized.
July 1, 2025 Nippon Steel said related litigation was voluntarily dismissed following completion.

Why did Biden block the acquisition?

Biden’s formal order asserted that the proposed transaction threatened U.S. national security. The review was handled through CFIUS, an interagency committee that examines certain foreign investments. The Associated Press reported that CFIUS did not reach consensus on the potential risks, leaving the president to decide whether to allow the deal.

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The companies disputed Biden’s rationale. In a joint statement, Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel said the order offered no credible evidence of a national-security issue and called the decision political. That was the companies’ allegation, not an adjudicated finding. They argued that Nippon Steel’s acquisition and investment commitments would support U.S. steel production, workers, communities and national security.

The labor and industrial questions were also contested. The United Steelworkers raised concerns about labor agreements, jobs and financial transparency, as reported by the Associated Press. U.S. Steel had warned that without Nippon Steel’s investment it might shift production away from older blast furnaces and move its headquarters. Those were concerns and forecasts expressed by the parties, not evidence that those changes necessarily occurred.

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How much was the deal worth?

The Associated Press reported a value of $14.9 billion in cash and debt; coverage commonly rounded it to nearly $15 billion. That figure describes the proposed transaction, not the subsequent share-price reaction or a measure of the companies’ value after completion.

What happened to shares after Biden’s decision?

U.S. Steel shares fell after Biden announced the block, which is the market reaction reflected in the original headline. The available reporting does not establish a precise percentage decline or a closing-price change, so a specific figure would depend on a separately defined trading window and market data. An intraday move should not be presented as the day’s closing loss.

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What the outcome means for readers following the story

There are two separate questions: whether Biden blocked the proposed deal in January, and whether the transaction ultimately went ahead. The answer to the first is yes; the answer to the second is also yes, according to Nippon Steel’s June 18 announcement, after Trump’s conditional approval order. The parties’ competing claims about national security, workers and political motives should remain attributed to the parties rather than treated as settled conclusions.

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