Cleveland-Cliffs Comments on U.S. AG真人平台AG真人试玩鈥檚 and Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩鈥檚 Desperate Lawsuits: Deflecting Blame on Everyone Else for their Own Mistakes

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) (鈥淐liffs鈥�) provided the following statement regarding the recent developments related to the United States Government decision to prohibit the unlawful acquisition of the United States AG真人平台AG真人试玩 Corporation by Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩 of Japan:

Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President and CEO stated: 鈥淎s of this morning, Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩 and U.S. AG真人平台AG真人试玩 continue to play the blame game in a desperate attempt to distract from their own failures. Today鈥檚 lawsuits against the U.S. Government, the USW, and Cleveland-Cliffs represent a shameless effort to scapegoat others for U.S. AG真人平台AG真人试玩鈥檚 and Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩鈥檚 self-inflicted disaster. U.S. AG真人平台AG真人试玩鈥檚 executives did not get their personal payouts. Now that it is clear that they have miserably failed the very shareholders they always say they work for, they are lashing out with petulance as a result. Once again, bad course of action.

Cleveland-Cliffs and the USW were not the only ones who recognized the adverse national security implications of this acquisition. This deal drew instant bi-partisan opposition, including from President Trump, who has vowed multiple times that he would block the deal. Shortly after the deal was announced, on December 19, 2023, then-Senators J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio and Josh Hawley requested CFIUS to block the sale of U.S. AG真人平台AG真人试玩 to Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩, and rightfully indicated that 鈥楾rade protections can and should induce foreign investment that expands domestic production and creates American jobs[,] [but] [t]his corporate takeover is out of step with those goals. Allowing foreign companies to buy out American companies and enjoy our trade protections subverts the very purpose for which those protections were put in place.鈥� Vance, Rubio and Hawley followed up with a letter to President Biden on May 9, 2024, urging President Biden to 鈥榮ummon the courage to do the right thing. Declare whether you will exercise your presidential authority to prohibit or suspend the sale of U.S. AG真人平台AG真人试玩 to Nippon.鈥�

The final decision by the President of the United States to block the Nippon deal follows a year-long national security review, and underscores the importance of maintaining American control over our country鈥檚 critical steelmaking infrastructure. Even more than China, Japan has a decades-long history of steel overcapacity and harmful steel dumping into the United States. The destruction of good-paying, middle-class jobs in the steel industry can be traced back to the unfair trade practices perpetrated by Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩. The U.S. Government has properly recognized that granting increasing influence to Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩 via this acquisition is a direct threat to our economy, workforce, infrastructure, and defense, all important elements of national security. Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩鈥檚 overproduction in their home country of Japan is at the root cause of their horrible track record of injurious trade practices in the United States. The risks of not having the deal approved were well recognized, and even David Burritt sold a chunk of his own personal stock at $50.01 on the day of the announcement, December 18, 2023.

U.S. AG真人平台AG真人试玩 made their bed when they rejected an all-American solution and insisted on pursuing a doomed-to-fail cash out sale to Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩, a company notorious for evading the trade laws in the United States. Rather than owning up to this colossal error in judgment, U.S. AG真人平台AG真人试玩, its CEO David Burritt, and Nippon AG真人平台AG真人试玩 have opted for finger-pointing and legal theatrics. David Burritt continues to embarrass himself to deeper levels at each step. Their lawsuit is completely baseless. We are well prepared to litigate and look forward to exposing the facts in court.鈥�

About Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Cleveland-Cliffs is a leading North America-based steel producer with focus on value-added sheet products, particularly for the automotive industry. The Company is vertically integrated from the mining of iron ore, production of pellets and direct reduced iron, and processing of ferrous scrap through primary steelmaking and downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs employs approximately 30,000 people across its operations in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit .

MEDIA CONTACT:
Patricia Persico
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
(216) 694-5316

INVESTOR CONTACT:
James Kerr
Director, Investor Relations
(216) 694-7719

Source: Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Released January 6, 2025