White House officials signal delay in U.S. Steel takeover decision, Washington Post reports By Reuters

(Reuters) – White House officials have signaled a delay in making a decision on Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp.’s acquisition of U.S. Steel, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, Nippon and U.S. Steel declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

A spokesman for Japanese steelmakers Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel told Reuters the companies sent a letter on Sunday to President Biden about the merger after media reports that he was preparing to block the deal.

Biden still opposes the deal even though nothing about blocking the agreement is scheduled to be announced, but the pace of internal deliberations has slowed, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Japan’s largest steelmaker is seeking a cash deal to buy 123-year-old U.S. Steel, despite resistance from Biden, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and the United Steelworkers union. The U.S. is conducting a national security review.