WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel ( NISTF )

told U.S. government officials it had proposed adopting a

binding national security agreement to address Biden

administration concerns about its proposed $14.9 billion

acquisition of U.S. Steel, according to a letter seen by

Reuters.

Nippon told the Committee on Foreign Investment in the

United States in a joint letter on Tuesday with U.S. Steel it

would commit to maintaining the American steel company's current

production and would only be able to reduce production capacity

if it was "approved by a majority of the independent U.S.

citizen directors of the U.S. Steel board. U.S. Steel would also

maintain an internal officer-level "trade committee" comprised

of U.S. citizens, Nippon said.

Nippon also disclosed it had hired former U.S. House

majority leader Dick Gephardt to assist in its efforts to reach

an agreement with the United Steelworkers.