Steel Mills
JSW Slab Boycott Lawsuit Dismissed with Prejudice by Texas Court
Written by David Schollaert
February 24, 2022
JSW Steel (USA) and JSW Ohio’s lawsuit claiming Nucor, U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs conspired to stifle competition by denying semifinished steel slab to the company has been dismissed.
The lawsuit, filed on June 8, 2021, in federal court in Houson, alleged that three of the largest American steelmakers formed a cartel and conspired to cause direct harm to JSW by refusing to sell slab to its U.S. pipe- and plate-making operations after the Trump administration levied Section 232 tariffs on imported steel.
U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison, from the Southern District Court of Texas, last week dismissed all of JSW’s claims with prejudice. As a result of the ruling, JSW cannot refile the same claim again in that court.
“We greatly respect the court’s decision to dismiss JSW’s entire baseless case,” a U.S. Steel spokeswoman said. “The court saw right through JSW’s false claims that we and other American steelmakers refused to sell JSW steel slabs and conspired to advocate for and defend the Section 232 national security action on steel imports.”
“We are pleased with the judgement rendered,” a Cliffs spokeswoman said.
JSW and Nucor didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Though initially a supporter of Section 232, JSW wound up suing the U.S. government in 2019 for relief. The company said that the Commerce Department wrongfully denied its request for exclusions and forced it to pay tens of millions of dollars in tariffs. Domestic mills also filed objections with Commerce to oppose JSW’s exclusion requests.
Last year’s complaint against U.S. Steel, Nucor and Cliffs was based upon federal antitrust laws and Texas state laws. JSW alleged that the defendants used “anticompetitive tactics against smaller producers like JSW to succeed at all costs.”
Judge Ellison said JSW failed to prove a conspiracy and any antitrust injury.
By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com
David Schollaert
Read more from David SchollaertLatest in Steel Mills
Domestic mill shipments slip in July: AISI
US steel shipments decreased month over month in July, but were up from last year, according to the latest figures from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Nippon and USS drop litigation vs. USW and Cliffs
Another chapter of the Great U.S. Steel Buyout of the 2020s melodrama has closed, with all involved parties terminating the litigation disputes between them.
Steel Summit: Analysts say demand likely to struggle until 2027
Steel industry analysts at this year's SMU Steel Summit said they see lackluster demand through this year and next.
USS Clairton begins full production of batteries 19 and 20, 13 and 14 hot idled
U.S. Steel has activated batteries 19 and 20 at its Clairton Coke Works facility after pausing each “out of an abundance precaution” following an explosion at the site on Aug. 11.
Steel Summit: Schneider sees SDI ‘on the edge of a very good run’
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) President and Chief Operating Officer, Barry Schneider, remains bullish about the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker’s position in the current market.