Cleveland-Cliffs, United Steelworkers File Trade Cases on Unfairly Traded Tin Mill Products

They filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions against eight countries.

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Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced that it has partnered with the United Steelworkers (USW) in filing antidumping and countervailing duty petitions against eight countries related to unfairly traded tin and chromium coated sheet steel products.

The petitions seek the imposition of antidumping duties on U.S. imports of tin mill products from Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The petitions also seek the imposition of countervailing duties on U.S. imports of tin mill products from China.

Tin mill products are used primarily for packaging applications, particularly for canned food, among many others. Cleveland-Cliffs produces tin mill products at its Weirton, West Virginia operating facility and sells approximately 300,000 net tons per year, approximately 2% of total Company steel sales volume. The Weirton facility employs approximately 950 people, the majority of whom are USW-represented.

The petitions present evidence that imports of tin mill products from each subject country are being sold in the United States at less than normal value and that imports of tin mill products from China are benefiting from countervailable subsidies.

The petitions also show that dumped and subsidized imports from the subject countries have taken sales from the domestic industry and made it impossible to obtain a fair rate of return on domestic operations, putting the future of American made tin mill products at risk.

The eight countries covered by the antidumping petitions and their respective margins are as follows:

  • Canada: 78.29%
  • China: 130.88%
  • Germany: 43.64%
  • Netherlands: 124.17% - 294.27%
  • South Korea: 13.46% - 110.84%
  • Taiwan: 47.22% - 60.12%
  • Turkey: 96.51% - 106.43%
  • United Kingdom: 110.81%

Census data indicates that, from 2019 to 2021, imports of tin mill products from the subject countries increased by 21%. Subsequently, imports from these subject countries, through November 2022, increased by an additional 21%.

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