Critics claim this would result in job losses and discourage foreign investment in the US.
Last year, US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel announced the $15 billion merger.
Investors had welcomed it as a solution to the company’s financial problems and it would have established one of the largest steel corporations in the world outside of China.
Politicians and the US Steelworkers union, however, opposed it right away, claiming that they did not want the 123-year-old company to end up in foreign hands.
Following news of the decision, which concerns a firm with its headquarters in Pennsylvania, a swing state, during a contentious election season, US Steel shares dropped by almost 20%.
Earlier this year, Mr. Biden had expressed his opposition to the buyout and tried to have the deal investigated for national security reasons.
Rivals in the presidential campaign, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, have both expressed opposition to the merger.
US Steel stated that it was standing by the agreement and that it had not heard anything regarding a formal decision, adding that Japan was one of the United States’ “most staunch allies”.
“We anticipate using every legal avenue at our disposal to complete this deal, which is [the] best course of action for Pennsylvania, American steelmaking, and all of our team.
