Trade Cases

Domestic producers prevail in Japanese tin mill product trade case
Written by Laura Miller
May 10, 2024
A vote on Friday by the International Trade Commission (ITC) ensures that antidumping duties on certain steel sheet imports from Japan will continue for the mid-term.
After conducting a five-year sunset review, the ITC voted that imports of tin- and chromium-coated steel sheet from Japan are injuring, or threatening to injure, the domestic market. The agency will release details on its reasoning for the affirmative vote at a later date.
Cleveland-Cliffs, one of the two interested domestic producer parties participating in the trade case, applauded the vote.
“While we are disappointed in their previous ruling on tin mill products, the ITC got this one right,” Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a statement on Friday.
Recall that last year, Cliffs and the United Steelworkers (USW) brought a trade case against tin mill product imports from a host of countries. However, in February, the ITC voted against imposing duties and Cliffs said it had to idle its Weirton, W.Va., mill as a result.
The USW told SMU in an email on Friday it is pleased the ITC voted to uphold the duties.
U.S. Steel was the other participating domestic party. In an emailed statement to SMU, the steelmaker said: “We appreciate the Commission’s vote to continue antidumping duties on Japanese tin mill. The Commission correctly found that unfairly traded Japanese tin mill would harm U.S. Steel and its workers.”
Nippon Steel and JFE Steel were the two interested Japanese parties taking part in the case, and neither could be reached for comment.
Cliffs responds to Friday’s vote
Cliffs used the ITC’s vote to highlight how foreign ownership of American mills could affect domestic trade cases.
The US currently has antidumping duty orders in place on 12 Japanese steel products, and Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC) is Japan’s largest steel and tin mill product producer, Cliffs pointed out.
Goncalves said these facts and the ITC’s decision support their position “that Japan is a bad trade partner with the United States, particularly in steel.”
“It also underscores the importance of American ownership of our steel industry. Had Nippon Steel owned US tin mill production, Nippon could have exerted influence to make it impossible for American companies and workers to correct unfair practices through our US trade laws,” he added.
SMU asked Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel about their future participation in US trade cases once their merger is finalized, which they expect will be in the second half of this year. Nippon did not respond, while USS declined to comment.
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Trade Cases
Leibowitz: Renewed trade war with China over rare earths
On Oct.10, President Trump announced major increases in tariffs on Chinese goods. The trigger was a new regime of export controls on rare earth metals and products using those elements, including magnets, capital equipment, and catalysts for catalytic converters in cars and trucks.
Industry piles on new Section 232 steel derivative inclusion requests
The Department of Commerce received 97 submissions from producers, manufacturers, and groups seeking Section 232 tariff coverage for steel and aluminum derivative products.
Price on Trade: New EU steel tariffs don’t mean the US should weaken its stance
Any steel imports into the EU that exceed the new, lower quota level would be subject to a 50% tariff, which represents a major increase from the EU’s current 25% out-of-quota tariff. This move would largely align the EU’s steel tariff rate with Canada and the United States.
Global steel forum sets 2026 framework deadline as US ups pressure on excess capacity
Global steelmakers sounded the alarm Friday over the deepening excess steelmaking capacity crisis. Ministers at the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC) in Gqeberha, South Africa, pledged to...
CRU: China’s indirect steel exports find new destination markets
The boom in China’s direct steel exports has not stopped this year, even with a rise in protectionist measures globally. The increase is driven by...
