Steel Mills

NLMK Wins Settlement in Slab Import Lawsuit

November 16, 2020

NLMK USA has reached a settlement with the U.S. government regarding its challenge to the denial of Section 232 exclusions on steel slab imports.

NLMK USA filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in February 2020, covering 86 requests for slab exclusions submitted by the company in 2018. NLMK USA argued that Commerce based its denial of the exclusion requests on claims by other U.S. producers that there was a sufficient supply of domestically produced steel slab for NLMK’s needs. NLMK USA insisted that American mills did not manufacture the products in the quality and quantity required.

Without admitting impropriety, the U.S. government agreed to refund to NLMK USA a significant portion of the tariffs it had paid, along with accrued interest. The settlement, however, does not include a change to existing Section 232 tariffs or quotas. NLMK USA will continue to pay the 25 percent tariff on future imports of slab.

In October 2019, the Commerce Department Inspector General audited the Bureau of Industry and Security and International Trade Administration’s processes and procedures for reviewing and deciding Section 232 exclusion requests. The audit of BIS revealed evidence of an unofficial appeals process, changes to decisions following communications with objectors, and off-record discussions on cases.

NLMK USA is a division of Russia’s NLMK group, operating three steel mills in Indiana and Pennsylvania with a total production capacity of 0.8 million metric tons of steel and 2.9 million tons of rolled products. The facilities provide jobs for more than 1,100 workers.