Biden has decided to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel – report

If you’ve been following this for some time, this is no surprise. But this puts to an end the drawn out and contentious proposal involving $14.9 billion. For some context, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) deferred their decision on the approving the acquisition to Joe Biden. Hence, the president has the final say here.

From before:

• Rejecting the US Steel sale to Nippon Steel will mark the end of an era in US capitalism
• Washington Post reports that Biden will block sale of US Steel to Japanese buyer
• Biden to announce Friday on whether he’ll approve Japanese acquisition of US Steel

As much as this might cause some tension in US-Japan relations, it is important to remember who is wearing the pants in the relationship. So, no harm will be done in that sense.

The Nikkei is closed for trading today amid a Japanese holiday but US steel saw its shares down over 4% yesterday.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.