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

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.

Metallus, USW agree to tentative four-year labor deal
Metallus and the United Steelworkers (USW) have agreed to a tentative four-year labor contract.

ArcelorMittal Dofasco resumes cokemaking after emergency maintenance
The Canadian steelmaker reported on Sept. 30 that “urgent maintenance” was needed in its coke plant off-gas systems. The work required coke oven gas from the No. 2 coke plant to be flared for most of that week.

AISI: Raw steel production ticks back down
US raw steel output declined last week after increasing the week prior, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Output has see-sawed from week to week since mid-August. Still, it has remained historically strong over the past four months and has held near multi-year highs since June. Domestic mills […]