A group of US consumers has filed a lawsuit against Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel to block its proposed acquisition of US Steel. They claim that the deal threatens to reduce competition and raise prices for a large number of products, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit was recently filed in a federal court in San Francisco, California. The plaintiffs argue that the deal violates US antitrust laws as it will lead to further consolidation of the steel market and significantly threaten price fixing and price stabilization among other producers.
The 16 consumers in California, Florida, Ohio, Texas and other states that filed the lawsuit claim to be direct and indirect purchasers of steel-related products, including automobiles, appliances, tools and other goods.
US antitrust law allows private plaintiffs to challenge mergers separately from the government.
In December 2024, the Biden administration halted the planned acquisition for national security reasons. The companies asked a court in Washington to overturn the decision, which they called “blatantly unconstitutional” in their filing.
Nippon Steel did not comment on the lawsuit, while US Steel, which is not a defendant, said on February 6 that the agreement with the Japanese company “ensures the competitiveness of the domestic steel industry.”
According to media reports, the US President met with US Steel CEO Dave Burritt at the White House on the eve of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s visit. Nippon Steel, in turn, said that its bid to buy the American steelmaker is in line with Trump’s goal of strengthening the United States. Trump and the Japanese Prime Minister are likely to discuss the unfinished deal.
In January of this year, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved an extension of the deadline for Nippon Steel to abandon the takeover of US Steel to June 18 from February 2.
