NLMK USA has announced it will immediately impose a 25 percent surcharge on US customers if Russian slab, the company’s raw material source, is not exempted from Section 232 tariffs.
The 25 percent will directly cover the additional import tariff expense the firm will incur given the delay in its exemption petition. The tariffs are estimated to cost NLMK $150 million annually. NMLK imports about 2 million mt of steel slab annually from its Russian parent company. The firm says that the imported slab is “almost impossible to acquire from US steel producers” and necessary to support many US based makers of machinery and other equipment.
In previous statements, CEO Bob Miller has stated that if company’s customers refuse the 25 percent price increase because of the tariffs, it puts almost 1,200 workers’ jobs in jeopardy.
As reported by SteelOrbis, NLMK USA formally requested an exemption in March.