Washington: Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would block the planned acquisition of United States Steel Corp. by Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. if he returns to the White House.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with labor union officials in Washington, Trump called the acquisition “horrible” and vowed to block it “instantaneously.”

Trump claimed to have saved the U.S. steel industry when he was president. He said he wants to bring jobs back to the United States.

Nippon Steel said in December that it had reached an agreement to buy the U.S. company. But the United Steelworkers union has opposed the deal, and some Congress members have raised concerns about the deal’s impact on employment and national security.

JIJI Press