NewsJanuary 8, 2025

U.S. Steel and the Nippon Steel Corporation filed a federal lawsuit Monday morning against the Biden Administration.

U.S. Steel and the Nippon Steel Corporation filed a federal lawsuit Monday morning against the Biden Administration claiming the President’s blockage of their $14.9 billion sale was “politically motivated.”

President Joe Biden announced last week he had blocked the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel “to protect the nation’s security, infrastructure and critical supply chain.”

The lawsuit, claiming Biden’s decision lacked any legal foundation, was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

In a formal statement, U.S. Steel and Nippon officials stated, "As a result of President Biden's undue influence to advance his political agenda, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States failed to conduct a good faith, national security-focused regulatory review process."

The two steel giants filed a second lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Lourenco Goncalves, CEO of rival steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs, and Dave McCall, president of the United Steelworkers union. The suit claimed both organizations took “racketeering activities” to block the sale. In 2023, Cleveland-Cliffs made a $7 billion bid to acquire U.S. Steel, but the offer was rejected.

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