International Steel Mills

Russian Steelmaker MMK Added to US Sanctions List

August 4, 2022

Another Russian steelmaker has been sanctioned by the US government in response to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

The US Department of Treasury officially sanctioned Russian steelmaker Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) and its majority owner Viktor Filippovich Rashnikov. MMK’s subsidiaries MMK-FINANS and MMK Metalurji were added to the list as well.

MMK

The companies were sanctioned “for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy,” the Treasury said in a statement.

As a result of the sanctions, the Treasury has ordered US companies doing business with MMK to wind down any transactions involving the company by January 31, 2023, and to cease further business with the company.

MMK issued the following statement in response to the sanctions: “We consider the sanctions against Viktor Rashnikov, PJSC MMK and its subsidiaries unjustified and counterproductive. The company is studying the decision taken by the American authorities, assessing its potential effect and the possibility of challenging the imposed sanctions by all available means.”

MMK joins Russia’s OAO Severstal on the US sanctions list.

Russian steelmakers have long supplied the US market with finished products such as sheet and tubulars, as well as semi-finished slabs and pig iron. Since sanctions began against Russia earlier this year, US importers have begun looking for alternative suppliers of steel and pig iron. US steel imports from Russia fell dramatically in July, with just 119 metric tons of import license applications granted for the month, down from 111,754 metric tons the month before.

By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.