March 15, 2024 - President Joe Biden called for United States Steel to retain American ownership amid moves by Nippon Steel to purchase the Pittsburgh-based company.

“US Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated,” Biden said in a statement.

US Steel shares retreated in premarket trading.

The announcement came as Biden is campaigning in Michigan and Wisconsin, two Midwestern industrial strongholds that are crucial for him to win in the November election. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is vying for the same blue-collar workers in those states as Biden.

Late Wednesday, the two companies said they welcomed scrutiny of the deal, claiming it would strengthen economic and national security.

Biden’s administration had been sending warnings about the deal and steadfastly sided with the United Steelworkers over the sale of a once-iconic firm based in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state.

Trump has pledged to block the deal outright.