Nippon Steel is dropping a lawsuit against the United States government, chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto said as the company finalized its acquisition of United States Steel after an 18-month battle to complete the transaction.

The suit has been rendered moot as a result of the successful purchase of the American steel-maker, Hashimoto said in reply to a question from The Japan Times after his meeting with trade minister Yoji Muto on Thursday evening.

“We were able to achieve our objective, so there is no longer a meaningful reason to continue that case — in a good sense,” he explained.