Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), JD Vance (R-Ohio), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter to President Biden urging him to prevent Nippon Steel from acquiring U.S. Steel. Despite President Biden’s public support for preventing foreign takeovers of key American companies, he has not utilized his presidential authority to block this deal.
The senators emphasized, “By law, you have the 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), upon declaring a national emergency. You may exercise these powers now.”
They added, “Statements about what you consider ‘vital’ or what should happen to U.S. Steel are ineffective unless you act to maintain U.S. Steel under American ownership.”
Senator Hawley has been prominent in this issue. In December of last year, he, along with Senators Vance and Rubio, wrote to Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury and Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), urging her to prevent the sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese company.
