In a lawsuit filed with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the two companies allege that political considerations during the election season undermined the US government’s formal review of the merger, according to ABC. News.
The two companies said that President Biden’s order “is the culmination of a months-long campaign to intervene and exploit the US national security apparatus, with the aim of keeping the promises that Mr. Biden and his advisers made.” presented to the leadership of the US Steel Union (USW).
US President Joe Biden at a press conference on January 1
Previously, President Biden announced on January 3 that he had blocked the sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion, on the grounds that US Steel is among America’s leading steel producers. and being under foreign control poses risks to national security, Reuters reported.
US Steel and Nippon Steel believe that Mr. Biden blocked the merger plan to attract support from USW members in the 2024 US presidential election. USW has about 1.2 million members, with a large number of members. workers gathered in the battleground state during the election season, Pennsylvania.
The two steel companies mentioned above also filed another lawsuit in the Western Pennsylvania District Court, accusing US steel company Cleveland-Cliffs of violating antitrust laws by creating an agreement with USW to prevent Japanese businesses from buying. in return, thereby wanting to find a way to merge with US Steel.
Outside the headquarters of Nippon Steel steel company in Tokyo, Japan
In a statement on January 6, USW President David McCall pledged to support the Biden administration’s decision to block the merger and will confront the accusations against the union. Currently, Cleveland-Cliffs representatives have not commented on the incident.
