The chief executive of U.S. Steel on Tuesday told CNBC that President-elect Donald Trump could reverse President Joe Biden's decision to block the sale of the company to a Japanese company.
The White House on Friday announced that Biden will not allow the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel after the U.S.-based Committee on Foreign Investment failed to reach a consensus during its review of the deal's national security risks.
U.S. Steel filed a lawsuit over the decision. CEO David Burritt said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday that Biden does not have the final say.
"We have a new president that will take a fresh look at this. We understand what his current views are, but he's a smart guy," Burritt said, adding that he hopes Trump can "see how this helps make U.S. Steel great again. And frankly, Nippon is going to pay for it."
Burritt added that Biden "tainted" the deal from the start and claimed he didn't let the committee's review "play out as it is supposed to," saying that any national security concerns Biden had could be "easily mitigated."
Burritt argued that the deal would not cause supply chain or national security issues.
"In fact, it strengthens national security, it strengthens economic security, it strengthens job security. In fact, it grows the business," he said. "Nobody in the integrated mill space is better than Nippon, and they're going to do great things for the workers here in Pennsylvania, in Indiana, and all the places we do business."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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