An employee enters the human resources and educational building for Japanese company Nippon Steel during a media tour at their East Nippon Works Kashima Area facility in Kashima, Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo on December 6, 2024. (AFP)

_________________

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Friday blocked the controversial $14.9 billion sale of US Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel, citing a strategic need to protect domestic industry