Nippon Steel proposed giving the U.S. government a veto over any reduction in U.S. Steel’s “production capacity” in a last-ditch bid for President Joe Biden’s approval to acquire the venerable American steelmaker, according to a document sent to the White House on Monday.

The proposal is aimed at mollifying the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which warned last week that Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion takeover of U.S. Steel could lead to a decline in domestic steel output that would pose “risks to the national security of the United States.”

United Steelworkers leaders on Thursday bashed a union letter-writing campaign in support of Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion takeover of U.S. Steel as “intimidating” and “unlawful” as President Joe Biden is due to decide the deal’s fate.

Union members in the Pittsburgh region were asked to sign a letter to Mr. Biden that states the merger with Japan’s largest steelmaker will “ensure that USW-represented facilities across the organization’s footprint will continue to mine, melt, and make steel in the United States for decades to come.”

Even though the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States continues to review Nippon Steel’s $14.1 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, President Joe Biden is reportedly planning to block the deal even if CFIUS approves it. Reading between the lines of state media, no one is happier than the Chinese Communist Party.