ST. PAUL — Office products makers 3M Co. and Avery Dennison Corp. said they have not cancelled the agreement for 3M to acquire Avery Dennison’s office and consumer products operations and will work to address federal antitrust concerns and seal a deal.

The companies issued a statement late Tuesday in response to a Justice Department release saying the companies had dropped the proposed acquisition. They said they have withdrawn their application for antitrust clearance to work on addressing antitrust worries.

The proposed deal would have given 3M, maker of Post-It sticky notes, more than 80 percent of the U.S. business in both labels and sticky notes. The Justice Department had threatened to sue to halt the acquisition.

The government said the proposed acquisition, which includes Avery’s label business, would have substantially lessened competition in the sale of labels and sticky notes, resulting in higher prices and reduced innovation.