The bid by Japan’s Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel may have a new lease on life, now that the Biden Administration pushed back the deadline it imposed for the Japanese steelmaker to abandon its plan to acquire the storied Pittsburgh company.

Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba asked U.S. President Joe Biden to allay concerns in the Japanese and U.S. business communities over the status of Nippon Steel’s 5401.T planned acquisition of U.S.

The Biden administration delayed until June an order for Nippon Steel to abandon its $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel , the companies said on Saturday, giving them some time to revive the politically contentious deal.

President-elect Donald Trump has also expressed strong opposition to Japanese ownership of infrastructure giant.

Takahiro Mori said Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel does not bring any national security risks, despite Joe Biden's insistence otherwise.

The proposed deal kicked up an election year political maelstrom across America’s industrial heartland and quickly drew vows by Biden and Trump from the campaign trail in a critical battleground state to block the deal.