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Biden, Trump and labour union oppose Nippon Steel's ( NISTF ) bid

for US

Steel

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Panel reviewing merger for national security risks

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US Steel says deal failure would risk union jobs

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Nippon Steel ( NISTF ) considering all options, including legal

action, to

close deal

Dec 11 (Reuters) - A U.S. government panel is set to

submit its recommendations this month on whether a Japanese

takeover of U.S. Steel would threaten national security,

with the fate of the $15 billion mega-merger in the balance.

President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump and a

politically-influential labour union have voiced opposition to

Nippon Steel's ( NISTF ) acquisition of a firm that helped build

the Empire State Building and arm allied forces in World War

Two.

The White House said on Tuesday that Biden will wait for the

outcome of the review, expected in under two weeks, before

deciding whether to block a deal that World Steel Association

data showed would create the world's third-largest steelmaker

after China's Baowu Steel Group and Luxembourg-based

ArcelorMittal.

The comment came after U.S. Steel's shares had tumbled

following a Bloomberg report that he planned to kill the merger.

Here's a look at what could happen next:

APPROVAL

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a

government panel that assesses inbound foreign investment for

national security risk, has been reviewing the transaction for

several months.

In late August, it notified the two companies of associated

risk, Reuters reported, and days later sources said Biden was

poised to block the deal.

But the panel opted to extend their deliberations, pushing

the decision back to after the Nov. 5 presidential election,

Reuters reported in September.

The deal also needs to clear an antitrust review in the U.S.

but that is expected to be a lower hurdle, analysts say. Nippon

Steel ( NISTF ) has repeatedly said it is confident about closing the deal

by year-end.

DELAY

If the review is extended again, the government panel will

allow the parties to refile applications for approval of the

deal, beginning a new 90-day review process.

However, that would spill into the tenure of Trump, who has

repeatedly vowed to block the sale. "Buyer Beware!", he wrote on

his Truth Social platform last week.

BLOCK

Should the panel recommend Biden blocks the deal, the

president would have 15 days to issue an executive order to kill

it.

U.S. Steel has previously said the deal's failure would put

thousands of U.S. union jobs at risk and that it may be forced

to close some steel mills. The United Steelworkers union, which

opposes the deal, has called those assertions baseless threats

and intimidation.

Nippon Steel ( NISTF ) has said it is considering all possible

measures, including legal action, to close a deal it sees as key

to its future growth.