
President Biden on Thursday said he opposes a deal that would see Japan's Nippon Steel take over U.S. Steel, a proposed takeover that has become a political lightning rod for the presidential race in midwestern swing states.
The $15 billion deal was announced in December, and has been fiercely opposed by the United Steelworkers union. U.S. Steel is based in Pennsylvania — a battleground state for 2024 — and has operations in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and other states as well.
The White House said Biden had called the president of the union to relay his message.
"It is important that we maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers," Biden said in a statement released by the White House on a day that visited Saginaw, Mich., for a campaign event.