Nippon Steel said Wednesday it has dropped a civil lawsuit filed in the United States relating to its acquisition of United States Steel.
In January, Nippon Steel sued major U.S. steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs, its CEO, Lourenco Goncalves, and David McCall, the president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union, over what it alleged were illegal acts to prevent the buyout.
Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel said in a statement Thursday that they will "remain focused on steelmaking and collective bargaining."
Meanwhile, the USW withdrew its complaint filed with a U.S. independent administrative agency against U.S. Steel, in which it alleged that U.S. Steel threatened its employees to prevent them from opposing the acquisition plan.
All disputes related to the acquisition have ended.
The USW had strongly opposed the takeover due to concerns about maintaining employment, which developed into a political issue during the U.S. presidential election last year.
However, thanks to Nippon Steel's offer to significantly increase its investment in the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump, who had raised difficulties over the buyout, accepted the takeover. U.S. Steel came under the umbrella of Nippon Steel in June.
Meanwhile, Goncalves, who had been criticizing Nippon Steel, changed his attitude in July, coming to favorably evaluate the acquisition.
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