Nippon Steel offers the US government veto power in a bid to get the US steel company’s approval, Reuters reports.

(Reuters) – Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp has proposed giving the U.S. government veto power over any potential cuts to U.S. Steel’s production capacity, as part of its efforts to get President Joe Biden to approve a takeover of the U.S. steelmaker, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Last week, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) referred the decision to approve or block the deal to President Biden.

Biden, who will leave office on January 20, must decide on the deal by January 7, and if he takes no action, this will trigger automatic approval of the merger.

The report, citing a document sent to the White House, said that Nippon Steel pledged in its proposal a 10-year commitment not to reduce production capacity at US steel factories in the country, unless approved by a review committee led by the Treasury Department.

US Steel, Nippon Steel and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.