U.S. Steel deal security review to proceed normally, White House says

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Any national-security review of the deal for Japan's Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will proceed as normal, a White House official said on Thursday.

President Joe Biden has repeatedly said he opposed the sale of the U.S. industrial firm to Nippon Steel, leaving some to describe the deal as on life support. But it remained unclear what, if any, additional steps he would take to block the deal.

"Obviously, there are certain legal processes... you're referring to CFIUS," said Lael Brainard, White House national economic adviser, at the Semafor World Economy Summit 2024. "Those are going to proceed as normal, presumably."

"Steel is an industry that has very important national security considerations, very important economic security considerations," she added. "It is critical to supply chain resilience, and the president is very clear that he thinks U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned and domestically operated."

Speaking on Wednesday to steel workers, Biden promised that U.S. Steel would remain a "totally American company."

U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel later said the Pittsburgh-based firm will remain an "iconic American company" even after the $14.9 billion takeover.

U.S. Steel shares closed down 0.5% at $38.94 on Thursday, while Nippon Steel shares closed up 0.9% to 3,463 yen in Tokyo the day prior.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Doina ChiacuEditing by Nick Zieminski and Leslie Adler)