Steel Mills

JSW USA Tariff Exclusion Case Moves to USITC
Written by Sandy Williams
October 7, 2019
JSW USA has filed a challenge to a tariff exclusion denial with the U.S. Court of International Trade. In the first tariff exclusion case to reach the USCIT, JSW claims that Commerce ignored evidence presented regarding the domestic availability of steel slab. The company is requesting a refund of the tariffs it was required to pay.
JSW uses steel slab imported from its parent company in India and from Mexico to produce steel plate and large-diameter welded line pipe at its Baytown, Texas, facility. The company provided evidence that domestic steel mills do not produce or make available enough steel slab for JSW’s needs. JSW claims that Commerce did not verify steel slab production capabilities claimed by U.S. Steel, Nucor and AK Steel in their objection to JSW’s exclusion request. Commerce instead sided with the steel producers and issued boilerplate denials.
The Commerce Department denied the allegations in an Oct. 7 response to JSW’s lawsuit.
Should JSW prevail in its suit at the USCIT, it would “absolutely open the floodgates” to many similar court challenges, said Adams Lee, a trade lawyer with Harris Bricken in a comment to Bloomberg Law.
JSW USA has previously supported the administration’s Section 232 tariffs as a method to restrain steel imports and revitalize the U.S. steel industry. Then in August, the company announced it would put on hold its plans to install an electric arc furnace and slab caster at Baytown due to “current market conditions and the prevailing policy environment.”
At a September event with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Trump lauded the investment by JSW Steel in its U.S. division as a the “perfect example of strong business ties between India and the U.S.” No mention was made of the tariff dispute.
Parth Jindal, Director of JSW Steel USA, reiterated the company’s plan to move forward with its U.S. investments: “We are pleased to share our intention for additional investments in the U.S. It is our intention to further augment our capacity in Acero Junction over the next few years and to take the combined capacity of JSW USA to 4 MT per annum—3 MT at Acero and 1 MT at Baytown in Texas.”

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills

CMC Q4 profits rise on improved market conditions
CMC reported higher net earnings in its fiscal fourth quarter on "better market conditions" across its segments.

AISI: Raw steel production drops to multi-month low
After being historically strong for more than four months, US raw steel production fell for a second week.

U.S. Steel sues Algoma over iron pellet shipments
U.S. Steel is suing Algoma over the Canadian flat-rolled producer's rejection of iron pellet shipments, arguing it has breached its contract.

August US mill shipments slip but still higher than last year
The American Iron and Steel Institute reported a decline in the monthly shipments of US mills from July to August.

TransPod, Algoma, Supreme Steel linkup anchors Canadian steel in high-speed transit build
The three Canadian companies have announced a strategic partnership to support the development of an ultra-high-speed transit line from Edmonton to Calgary.