Trade Cases

Congress Members Warn of Impact From Tariffs on Tin Mill Products
June 16, 2023
A bipartisan group of 36 members of Congress have expressed their concerns over potential tariffs on tin mill steel products.
In a letter to the US International Trade Commission and Department of Commerce on June 12, the group said that the antidumping investigation on tin mill products brought forth by Cleveland-Cliffs earlier this year can “present unique challenges for the Commerce Department and the US economy.”
“The downstream impact on can manufacturers, who rely on tin mill products to make billions of cans annually, threatens to cause significant price increases and possible job losses,” the letter said.
Cliffs and the United Steelworkers (USW) union filed a trade a trade case in January targeting imports of tin mill products from eight countries. The case also seeks countervailing duties against imports from China. The Cleveland-based steelmaker makes tin mill products at its Weirton, W.Va., mill. Cliffs said the mill sells ~300,000 net tons of tin mill products per year.
Addressing the case, the group said: “…Commerce should carefully consider the quantities and types of tin mill steel that are made in the US. We know your investigations will be thorough and protect the viability of all domestic manufacturers.”
The letter said domestic tin mill steel producers are only supplying about 50% of US demand and that certain types of widths required by can manufacturers “are not available in sufficient commercial quantities from domestic suppliers.”
An SMU email asking for comment from Cliffs was not immediately returned by time of publication.
By Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com
Latest in Trade Cases

Market unfazed by US circuit court’s IEEPA decision
Repealing any reciprocal tariffs placed by President Donald Trump on US imports of direct reduced iron (DRI), iron ore, hot-briquetted iron (HBI), and pig iron would have only a nominal impact on the US steel market, market participants said.

ITC votes to keep HR duties after sunset review
The US government determined this week that hot-rolled steel imports from a handful of countries continue to threaten the domestic steel industry.

Steel Summit: Zekelman advocates for ‘Fortress North America’
Barry Zekelman has a unique vantage point from which to view today’s trade landscape. A Canadian national who owns operations in both the US and Canada, he has also had dialogue with both Canadian and American administrations.

Steel Summit: Execs urge clarity on trade/tariff policy, want stronger USMCA
Tariff policy dominated the discussion of the SMU Steel Summit trade panel on Tuesday afternoon. The message was clear: uncertainty is rattling the steel supply chain.

Final AD/CVD margins announced in coated steel trade case
The Commerce Department announced the final anti-dumping and countervailing duty (CVD) margins in the sprawling trade case investigating corrosion-resistant steel imports.