Nippon Steel has filed a motion in U.S. court to dismiss a consumer lawsuit attempting to halt its proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, a deal currently under review by the Trump administration. On Wednesday in the federal court in San Francisco said the consumers, as downstream buyers of steel products, had not shown they have legal standing to pursue claims that the merger would drive up prices and violate U.S. antitrust law.
The company has asked a U.S. court to dismiss a consumer lawsuit aiming to block its proposed $14.9 billion purchase of U.S. Steel, currently under regulatory review. The company denounced the legal challenge as “baseless,” accusing plaintiffs of a history of filing unsuccessful antitrust claims against major mergers.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Joseph Alioto countered, that Nippon “has neither the facts nor the law” to support what he called a merger that would “very clearly” violate antitrust law.
According to report a consumer lawsuit filed in February claims Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, first announced in late 2023, would unlawfully consolidate the steel industry, violating U.S. antitrust laws. The deal has faced mounting opposition, by the Biden administration blocking the transaction in January on national security grounds. In response, Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel jointly challenged the decision in court, arguing before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that the government’s intervention was blatantly unconstitutional.
Last week, the Justice Department under President Donald Trump told the appeals court that the government needs more time to complete ongoing discussions concerning the transaction to eliminate the need for this court’s resolution of the litigation on the merits.
The court has delayed its hearing arguments to May 12. Both Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel have defended the deal, as they opined that it will help U.S. manufacturing compete with China while providing greater job security for American steelworkers.