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.

President Joe Biden came out forcefully against Nippon Steel’s planned acquisition of U.S. Steel on Thursday, stressing the importance of maintaining “strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers.”

Biden’s statement sent U.S. Steel shares X, 0.39% tumbling more than 6% as investors surmised that the deal — currently under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS — is likely dead in the face of presidential opposition.

Everyone knows the Trump-Biden election campaign is going to be nasty, brutish and not short enough, but the unknown is how much policy damage it will do. One unfolding example is the fiasco of self-destructive opposition to 

Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to U.S. steel import tariffs imposed in 2018 under former President Donald Trump - a policy he touted as defending American national security - and largely maintained by President Joe Biden.

The justices turned away an appeal by a group of U.S.-based steel importers of a lower court's ruling rejecting their challenge to the Trump administration's imposition of tariffs under a Cold War-era trade law.

The United States and the European Union on Saturday announced an easing of a trade dispute that started during the Trump administration.

The previous U.S. administration imposed a 25% tariff on European steel and another 10% tariff on aluminum in June 2018 on the grounds of national security.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge to President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported steel brought by an industry group that had argued that a key part of the law under which he imposed the duties violates the U.S. Constitution.

The justices declined to hear the American Institute for International Steel's appeal of a February ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in favor of the administration. The institute is a pro-free trade group that represents steel importers and users of imported steel.

The White House says the two nations are “presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies. which is not good for our farmers.”

President Trump said he would impose tariffs, effective immediately, on all steel and aluminum shipped into the United States from Brazil and Argentina.

The U.S. has reached a deal to lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico, removing a major barrier to congressional approval of President Trump’s revised trade deal with the countries.
The U.S. will be “selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs or major tariffs — big difference,” Mr. Trump announced in a speech Friday afternoon before the National Association of Realtors.
The president said the U.S. has a great relationship with Canada but that it put up a “barrier” by imposing tariffs on American farmers.

With U.S.-China trade talks at an impasse, President Trump moved Friday to tackle festering trade disputes with U.S. allies and North American neighbors.
The White House released an order putting off a decision on proposed tariffs on imported cars and auto parts for about six months, giving the administration room to negotiate possible trade deals with the European Union and Japan.

The US has reached a deal with Canada to lift tariffs on steel and aluminium imports in a move that could lead to approval for a new North American trade deal.
In a joint statement, the US and Canada announced that a 25% tariff on steel imports, and of 10% on aluminium, will end in 48 hours.
It is widely expected the US and Mexico will make a similar announcement soon.
The US implemented the tariffs last year on grounds of "national security".
Under the agreement, there will be no quotas on how much steel or aluminium the three countries buy from overseas.