U.S. President Joe Biden resolved to block a bid by Japan’s Nippon Steel for U.S. Steel on January 3, citing concerns the $14.9 billion deal could hurt national security.

According to The Guardian, the president is following through on a pledge to keep the steelmaker domestically owned as he prepares to depart the White House.

“U.S. Steel will remain a proud American company – one that’s American-owned, American-operated, by American union steelworkers – the best in the world,” the U.S. president said in a statement.

The block would remove a critical injection of capital for U.S. Steel, which has warned it would have to idle key mills without the nearly $3 billion in promised investment from its Japanese suitor, and argues the deal would enhance, not hinder, U.S. national security by helping to combat the competitive threat posed by China.

The announcement mirrors a statement made by President-elect Donald Trump December 2, who said that he is "totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company."

Biden announced his decision following a lengthy national security review into the deal, led by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which vets investment for national security risks, and had until December 23 to approve the deal, extend the timeline or recommend that Biden block it.

“We need major U.S. companies representing the major share of U.S. steelmaking capacity to keep leading the fight on behalf of America’s national interests,” Biden said, adding the deal “would place one of America’s largest steel producers under foreign control and create risk for our national security and our critical supply chains.”