U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to reject a bid by Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel on national security grounds isn’t the first time friction over trade and investment has irked Washington’s closest ally in Asia.

President Joe Biden decided to block the $14 billion takeover of US Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel even though some top US officials did not believe there were sufficient national security grounds to kill the deal,

The companies argued in a lawsuit announced on Monday that Biden violated the Constitution by blocking the merger via a sham national security review that deprived the companies of their right to a fair process.