Biden blocks US-Japan steel deal 

WASHINGTON, Jan 3: President Joe Biden on Friday announced he has blocked the controversial $14.9 billion sale of US Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel, citing a strategic need to protect domestic industry.

"This acquisition would place one of America's largest steel producers under foreign control and create risk for our national security and our critical supply chains," Biden said in a statement.

"That is why I am taking action to block this deal."
Biden's decision, less than three weeks before he leaves office, follows extended political wrangling over competing domestic political, economic and trade demands.    —AFP