The proposed agreement nearly $15 billion for Japan’s Nippon Steel to buy Pittsburgh-based US Steel has been blocked by President Joe Biden, upholding his promise in March to block the takeover, according to The Associated Press.

“We need major American companies that represent the largest share of US steelmaking capacity to continue to lead the fight on behalf of America’s national interestsBiden said in a statement Friday morning.

His decision comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, failed to reach a consensus on the deal’s potential national security risks last month and sent a long-awaited report on the merger to Biden, who had 15 days to reach a final decision.

The committee, chaired by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and consists of other members of the Cabinet, can recommend to the president to block a transaction, and federal law gives the president that power.

A U.S. official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press last month that some federal agencies represented on the panel were skeptical that allowing a Japanese company to buy a U.S. steelmaker would pose risks. for national security.

The decision, which is coming a few weeks ago the Democratic president is about to leave office, it could potentially damage relations between the US and Japan, America’s biggest ally in Asia. Japan is also the largest foreign holder of US debt.

Biden previously spoke out against the deal last March – and was backed by the United Steelworkers, concerned about whether the company would honor existing labor agreements or cut jobs as well as the company’s financial transparency.

“It is important to keep strong American steel companies powered by American iron and steel workers,” Biden said in a March statement while still seeking re-election to the presidency before dropping out of the race. “US Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital that it remains a domestically owned and operated American steel company.».

President-elect Donald Trump also opposed the takeover and vowed in December on Truth Social’s platform to block the deal and use tax incentives and tariffs to grow the company. Steelworkers union President David McCall said last month that the union welcomed Trump’s opposition to the sale and said that “it’s time to scrap this deal so we can all focus on the future».

Nippon Steel announced in December that it planned to buy the Pennsylvania steelmaker for $14.1 billion in cash — and despite a commitment to keep the US Steel name and Pittsburgh headquarters — its proposal raised concerns about the what the deal could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and US national security.

Still, the deal had many supporters, including lawmakers and business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Mike Pompeo, who served as Trump’s first secretary of state, called a possible rejection of the deal “short-sighted” in the Wall Street Journal.

“The deal will strengthen US Steel’s current operations and production capacity, benefit employees and their communities, and strengthen the competitiveness of the US steel industry,” he wrote in December.

Nippon Steel tried to remove Biden’s reservations by proposing various guarantees: among other things, it proposed that the US government have veto power over any potential reduction in US Steel production in the US. He also vowed to keep jobs and promised investments of at least 2.7 billion. dollars as well as a $5,000 bonus to US Steel employees if the takeover went ahead.

The US company argued that its acquisition was a way to “counter competition” from China and ensure its future growth.