Steel Mills

Nippon trial vs. US government to begin early next month: Report

Written by Ethan Bernard

January 21, 2025

Nippon Steel’s litigation against the US government is set to begin in early February, according to a report by Japan’s Kyodo News Agency.

Nippon will file its opening brief on Feb. 3. And both parties will conclude their claims by March 17 in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Kyodo reported.

The news agency cited court documents it had obtained.

As previously reported, the lawsuit was filed by Nippon and U.S. Steel earlier this month. It alleges “violation of the Constitutional guarantee of due process and statutory procedural requirements, as well as unlawful political influence,” according to the companies.

Also, it seeks the setting aside of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review process and President Biden’s order blocking the proposed $14.9-billion deal.

CFIUS reached a split decision in December, kicking the decision to Biden, who then blocked the deal.

Kyodo said the administrative lawsuit should be finished before June 18. That is the extended deadline the Biden administration gave Nippon to unwind the deal.

The Japanese steelmaker is in the meantime trying to convince President Donald Trump of the benefits of the deal for the US economy. But Trump has already publicly opposed the transaction.

Nippon filed a separate lawsuit in federal court in western Pennsylvania against the heads of Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers (USW) union, Lourenco Goncalves and Dave McCall, respectively.

A request for comment from Nippon was not returned by time of publication.  

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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