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Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), JD Vance (R-Ohio), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) have submitted a letter to President Biden, urging him to prevent Nippon Steel from acquiring U.S. Steel. Despite the president's repeated public support for preventing a foreign takeover of one of America's flagship companies, he has yet to use his presidential authority to block the deal.

The Senators' letter highlighted that the president possesses the legal authority to unilaterally block the sale of U.S. Steel under the Defense Production Act, 50 U.S.C. § 4565(d), or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. § 1702(a), when a national emergency is declared. They further stressed that without action, any statements about what is considered 'vital’ or what 'should’ happen to U.S. Steel are meaningless.

Senator Hawley has been at the forefront of this issue, having previously sent a letter in December of last year with Senators Vance and Rubio to Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury and Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). In this letter, they implored her to halt the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel.

The full text of their recent letter can be found below:

May 9, 2024

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Biden,

We write to express our frustration with your public statements regarding the sale of U.S. Steel Corporation (“U.S. Steel”) to Nippon Steel Corporation (“Nippon”).

For weeks you have maintained that “it is vital for [U.S. Steel] to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated." You have since asserted that it “should remain an American company . . . American-owned and American-operated.” These statements amount to wishes, not declarations, and belie your authority as President of the United States.

By law you possess the authority to block the sale of U.S. Steel unilaterally under the Defense Production Act, 50 U.S.C. § 4565(d), or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. § 1702(a), when a national emergency is declared. You may exercise these powers now. Pronouncements about what you consider “vital” or what you think “should” happen to U.S. Steel are worthless unless you act to keep U.S. Steel under American control.

Your predecessor displayed no such reticence. President Trump exercised his powers to suspend or prohibit foreign transactions unilaterally more than any other president. He forced divestitures to safeguard the American semiconductor industry and protect Americans’ data from firms linked to foreign adversaries. He has already declared that he would block the sale of U.S. Steel.

We urge you to summon the courage to do the right thing. Declare whether you will exercise your presidential authority to prohibit or suspend the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon.

Sincerely,

Josh Hawley

United States Senator

J.D. Vance

United States Senator

Marco Rubio

United States Senator