Nippon Steel is looking to buy an iconic 122-year-old American steelmaker. The US president was blunt and said that "it is vital" that the company "remains nationally owned and operated."

The United States Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation into the purchase agreement of the steel company US Steel by the company Nippon Steel for US$ 14.9 billion, a sale that is opposed by various sectors, including President Joe Biden.

According to the newspaper Politico.com, it is unknown when this “deep” investigation began, although it is known that it was recently.

The newspaper cited two people with direct knowledge of the matter, but not authorized to speak.

He also noted that the Justice Department declined to comment and that Nippon Steel and US Steel did not immediately respond to his questions.

This investigation - said Agencia EFE - contributes to the criticism that the purchase announcement received last December of the largest steel producer in the US, which is still under review by the federal authorities.

Concern in the US over possible sale of emblematic steel company

Concern about the sale of the 122-year-old Pennsylvania-based steelmaker has come from lawmakers, unions and others alike, who have said the company - an emblem of American industrial might - should not be owned by a foreign company, although Its headquarters are Japan, one of the United States' closest allies.

The EFE Agency mentioned that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he hoped the proposed agreement would move in a positive direction, but did not criticize American scrutiny.

Biden, for his part, indicated that “US Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century and it is vital that it remains a domestically owned and operated American steel company.”

The United Steelworkers union, which represents workers, also opposes the sale agreement, saying it puts jobs at risk.

The companies submitted the deal for review by EU antitrust regulators, according to a notice published by the European Commission. The EU has a provisional deadline of May 17 to make a decision.

The Treasury Department's Foreign Investment Committee, which reviews mergers and other investments by non-U.S. interests, conducts a buy-sell review as part of that process.