Nippon proposed capacity veto for U.S. Steel deal, Washington Post says

Nippon Steel (NPSCY) proposed giving the U.S. government a veto over any reduction in U.S. Steel’s (X) production capacity in a final bid for President Biden’s approval to acquire the company, David Lynch and Jeff Stein of Washington Post report, citing a document sent to the White House on Monday. The proposal is aimed at mollifying the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which warned that Nippon Steel’s 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,” the Post reports. Biden has publicly opposed the takeover for months, leaving him at odds with many of his advisers who favor the deal, according to two senior administration officials, the Post adds. As White House deliberations continue, administration officials for the first time are considering an approach that would leave a final decision to the incoming Trump administration, said the two administration officials and an industry executive who also requested anonymity, the journalists report. Biden faces a January 7 deadline for a final decision and could condition approval of the takeover on Nippon complying with a set of additional requirements, such as the preservation of American jobs, the official told the Post. In its new proposal, Nippon offered a 10-year guarantee that it would not reduce production capacity at U.S. Steel’s mills in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Texas, California and Arkansas without approval by the Treasury-led review panel, according the paper.