Jan 16 (Reuters) - Scott Bessent, U.S. President-elect

Donald Trump's choice to head the Treasury Department, on

Thursday said that if the blocked merger between U.S. Steel and

Nippon Steel ( NISTF ) comes back for review under the Trump

administration, it will get a fair assessment.

"If it reappears, CFIUS will conduct the same review that it

always does," Bessent told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee,

referring to the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in

the United States. The merger was blocked by the Biden

administration in a move that the companies are challenging in

the U.S. courts.