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Trump administration seeks delay in Nippon Steel case for merger talks, filing shows
CNN ^ | March 17, 2025 | Reuters staff

Posted on 03/18/2025 12:26:56 PM PDT by Miami Rebel

The Trump administration filed a motion to extend two deadlines in U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel’s lawsuit against a U.S. national security panel to give the government more time to wrap up merger talks with the firms, a filing showed on Monday. The filing is the clearest indication that President Donald Trump may allow the deal, scuttled by his predecessor, to proceed in some form. In January, the two companies filed a lawsuit against the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which scrutinizes foreign investments for national security risks, after it recommended that a merger between them be rejected on national security grounds. The motion last week from the Department of Justice calls for extending briefing deadlines in the CFIUS lawsuit for 21 days, and rescheduling the oral arguments for the week of May 12 from April 24. “The requested extension will allow the government to complete its ongoing discussions with the parties regarding the U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel transaction with the goal of eliminating the need for this Court’s resolution of the litigation on the merits,” the DOJ said in its filing. Trump in February said that he would not mind if Nippon Steel took a minority stake in U.S. Steel. Following his comment, a Japanese government spokesperson said that Nippon Steel was considering proposing a bold change in its previous approach of seeking to buy U.S. Steel. Nippon Steel also tried to schedule a meeting between Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to a report in February. However, no new deal has been inked yet. In the lawsuit against CFIUS, the companies alleged that Biden prejudiced the committee’s decision and violated the companies’ right to a fair review.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: iron; nippon; steel; tariff; tariffs
X is trading up nicely today in a bloody red market.

If the Trump Justice Department was fully on board with killing the Nippon/YUS Steel deal, there'd be no reason to prolong discussions.

I'm probably a sucker, but I bought back in to X yesterday. (I've also bought Mesabi Royalty Trust as an ancillary play.)

1 posted on 03/18/2025 12:26:56 PM PDT by Miami Rebel
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To: Miami Rebel
GET GOV'T OUT OF THE MANUFACTURING BUSINESS!!!!

The Constitution gives the feds NO AUTHORITY to meddle in free enterprise (aside from hinderances to interstate commerce).

LET'S GET BACK TO FREEDOM!!!

2 posted on 03/18/2025 12:35:05 PM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ (Jude 3) and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: Miami Rebel

Cleveland Cliffs.

A US steel producer and minerals firm.
They’ve made a bid for US steel.


3 posted on 03/18/2025 12:35:35 PM PDT by crz
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To: crz

Cliffs doesn’t have the financial firepower that Nippon does. It just bought the Canadian steel producer Stelco for $2.5 billion.


4 posted on 03/18/2025 12:39:18 PM PDT by Miami Rebel (pro-)
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To: Jim W N

Anti-trust governs over-concentration of the means of production, and I would LOVE to see it enforced against Big Tech, especially Amazon.

The Biden administration opposed the Nippon acquisition not on anti-trust grounds but rather for supposed national security reasons.


5 posted on 03/18/2025 12:43:26 PM PDT by Miami Rebel (pro-)
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To: Miami Rebel

NUCOR is involved along with Cliffs.


6 posted on 03/18/2025 12:47:39 PM PDT by crz
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To: Miami Rebel

Nippon gets US Steel, they will be forced to negotiate with Cliffs for the iron ore Cliffs now supplies to US Steel.

Cliffs is the only primary producer in the USA and Canada able to supply that.

Hows them apples?


7 posted on 03/18/2025 12:53:08 PM PDT by crz
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To: Jim W N

This is a national security issue.

It is not in America’s interest to have its steel foreign made, and I am sure most of the Founders would agree with that.

The issue is why US Steel is bankrupt(Unions and Regulations) forcing it to be purchased by Nippon.


8 posted on 03/18/2025 12:53:18 PM PDT by SPDSHDW (Execute Order 66....)
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To: crz

Nothing verified about it, but Nucor would be junior to Cliffs in a deal.

And the rumored price would be in the high $30s, whereas the shares are now trading above $41.

As a speculator, I’m indifferent just so long at the price is what Nippon has offered, $55.

(By the way, my other deal stock is TXNM Energy.)


9 posted on 03/18/2025 12:54:58 PM PDT by Miami Rebel (pro-)
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To: Miami Rebel

This is one thing Biden did right


10 posted on 03/18/2025 12:55:38 PM PDT by HereInTheHeartland (“I don’t really care, Margaret.”)
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To: SPDSHDW

That’s absurd. How would Japanese ownership jeopardize US national interests? Japan isn’t going to airlift American steel mills to Yokohama.

As for unions, US Steel isn’t bankrupt. It made $384 million last year. And if Nippon is successful, it will honor US Steel’s union contracts.


11 posted on 03/18/2025 1:04:36 PM PDT by Miami Rebel (pro-)
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To: Miami Rebel

The $3+ trillion unconstitutional portion of the feds trumps anti-trust issues.

The greatest enemy to our lives, liberties, and free pursuits is BY FAR the gargantuan unconstitutional portion of the feds which MUST be dismantled if we are to recover our Free Constitutional republic.


12 posted on 03/18/2025 1:23:47 PM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ (Jude 3) and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: Miami Rebel

I lived and worked for Cliffs for years at their forest products division.
Cliffs in the past, made some really poor management investment decisions. Like the jackup oil rigs they took a beating over. The worst decision they ever made was to sell off its forest producets division to shore up their infantile attempts at oil production.
That sawmill and veneer mill never lost them a penny even at the worst of the early 80s downturn.
Later, after they shedd themselves of that division, they constantly fought to keep their heads above water because of steel mills closing resulting in their losing customers for their iron ore pellets.
So what’d they have to do? They had to purchase steel mills.
Nippon gets US steel, they’ll throttle back production at those mills to boost production on their holdings overseas. Eventually, they’ll close them completely. Might be years down the road. But they’ll do just that.
Cliffs and NUCOR, on the other hand, intend on producing within North America.
Cliffs is still recovering from those really bad management decisions.

I hope they get US Steel. To do so, NUCOR intends on purchasing one of Cliffs mills.
Side note. Cliffs has an sort of inside track on the US Steels mines in Northern MN.
But, Nippon will have to deal with a unhappy supplier if they manage to get US STEEL. Of the two mines, i understand, the biggest US Steel mine is pinching out. So Nippon will have to deal with Cliffs even more for pellets.

Thats what this is all about. Mines.


13 posted on 03/18/2025 1:24:21 PM PDT by crz
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To: SPDSHDW

The issue is why US Steel is bankrupt(Unions and Regulations) forcing it to be purchased by Nippon.

You answered the question yourself - GOV’T (& GOV’T-PROTECTED UNIONS) IN THE MANUFACTURING BUSINESS


14 posted on 03/18/2025 1:25:46 PM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ (Jude 3) and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: Miami Rebel

Canadian seel exported by an American owned but canadian company is tariffed at least 25%

By allowing Nippon Steel to come to America and re create steel worker jobs, the Canadian deal might fall off a Cliff


15 posted on 03/18/2025 1:38:32 PM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. +12) Where is ZORRO when California so desperately needs him?)
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To: Jim W N

That’s like saying the greatest enemy to our health is heart disease, so just forget about diabetes and asthma.


16 posted on 03/18/2025 8:14:14 PM PDT by Miami Rebel (pro-)
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To: Jim W N

US Steel is NOT bankrupt or close to it. It earned over $300 million last year.

P.S. ALL US steelworkers are unionized. Cliffs and Nucor workers get the same benefits as US Steel workers.


17 posted on 03/18/2025 8:16:20 PM PDT by Miami Rebel (pro-)
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