Cleveland-Cliffs applauds the US Department of Commerce (DOC) for their latest amendment to the Section 232 steel tariffs.
As SteelOrbis previously reported (previous article), the DOC added more derivative steel products to Section 232. Cleveland-Cliffs is in full support of the DOC's decision to include derivative products subject to Section 232 steel tariffs electrical steel laminations and cores, as well as certain stainless steel automotive exhaust parts. These derivative products will be subject to 50 percent steel tariffs.
Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ Chairman, President, and CEO, said, “Cleveland-Cliffs thanks President Donald Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick for taking decisive and concrete action that will deter tariff circumvention occurring in plain sight with stainless and electrical steel derivative products. Since we acquired AK Steel Corporation a few years ago, we have identified and denounced circumvention schemes through Mexico and Canada involving derivative products using steel melted and poured outside of North America. This practice, which has been accepted and supported by both Canada and Mexico -- despite its inherent conflict with the original intent of the USMCA trade agreement -- has ultimately turned into a blatant tariff evasion subterfuge. Today’s action taken by the Secretary of Commerce gives us certainty that the American domestic market will not be undercut by unfairly traded steel embedded in derivative products. That allows us to continue to invest in our stainless steel operations in Coshocton, OH and Mansfield, OH, as well as in our electrical steel operations in Butler, PA and Zanesville, OH, in support of our domestic clients producing Made in USA cars, appliances, and electrical transformers.”