DoJ files motion to extend deadlines in U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel’s CFIUS lawsuit

(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion last week to extend two deadlines in U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel’s lawsuit against the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS), U.S. Steel said in a filing on Monday.

The two companies in January jointly filed a lawsuit against CFIUS, which scrutinizes foreign investments for national security risks, after it recommended then U.S. President Joe Biden to reject a merger between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel on national security grounds.

The motion from the DoJ calls for extending briefing deadlines in the CFIUS lawsuit for 21 days, and rescheduling the oral argument to the week of May 12 from April 24.

The aim of the extension is to allow the government more time to complete its ongoing discussions with the steel companies on the merger, and eliminate the litigation against CFIUS, the filing added.

In February, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would not mind if Nippon Steel took a minority stake in U.S. Steel.

U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel have consented to the motion, but it still remains subject to court approval.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru)