Nippon Steel Proposes Giving U.S. Govt Veto over Output Cut: Paper

Washington, Dec. 31 (Jiji Press)--Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp., which aims to acquire United States Steel Corp., has proposed giving the U.S. government a veto over any reduction in U.S. Steel’s domestic production capacity, the Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the situation.

The Japanese steelmaker made the proposal in a document sent to the White House on Monday “in a last-ditch bid for President Joe Biden’s approval to acquire the venerable American steelmaker,” the report said.

With Biden having expressed his opposition to the acquisition deal, the latest proposal is apparently intended to address the U.S. government’s national security concerns. Biden is expected to make his decision on whether to approve the deal by Jan. 7.

The U.S. paper said Nippon Steel has proposed that output capacity at U.S. Steel’s production sites in the United States, including those in Pennsylvania and Indiana, will not be reduced without the approval of the U.S. government for 10 years. It is estimated that billions of dollars in additional investment will be required to maintain the production capacity.

Within the White House, there have been proposals to leave the final decision to the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, or to set out conditions for approval of the deal.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]