Trade Cases
Cliffs Challenges Decision to Sunset Brazilian CR Duties
Written by Laura Miller
October 7, 2022
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is disputing the US International Trade Commission’s recent decision to allow antidumping and countervailing duties on cold-rolled steel flat products from Brazil to expire.
In July, the ITC completed five-year sunset reviews of the AD and CVDs on cold-rolled imports. While the agency decided that the duties should remain in place for China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the UK, it made a negative injury determination in regard to Brazil, which allowed those duties to expire.
The Cleveland-based flat rolled steelmaker is now challenging the ITC’s decision before the US Court of International Trade.
According to a court document obtained by SMU, Cliffs and other domestic producers argued in the sunset review that imports from all six countries, including Brazil, should be cumulated, and that they would be likely to cause material injury to the domestic industry upon revocation of the duties. The Commission was divided, however, in its ultimate decision not to cumulate the Brazilian product with the other subject imports.
The court complaint notes that “Commissioners relied heavily on the fact that the quota imposed on the cold-rolled steel imports from Brazil under section 232 … was ‘only’ 57,251 short tons,” whereas Korea’s annual quota limit is 141,108 short tons. Therefore they took into consideration that if the duties were allowed to expire for either country, Brazil could send far less cold rolled to the US than could Korea due to the quotas currently in place. They also relied on the assumption that 232 duties and quotas will remain in place for the foreseeable future. But Cliffs contends there is no guarantee of that.
Although the ITC ultimately issued the negative determination for Brazil, two members of the five-member Commission dissented from the decision.
Cliffs thinks the ITC’s ultimate decision wasn’t supported by evidence and is unlawful. The company is asking the CIT to remand the Commission’s final determination for Brazil to the ITC.
Cliffs did not have any additional comment for SMU beyond the court-filed complaint.
By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Trade Cases
Mills allege ‘critical circumstances’ in CORE trade case vs. South Africa, UAE
"Recent activity in the marketplace strongly indicates that these imports are being rushed into the United States in an effort to avoid the imposition of antidumping duties," petitioners said.
European Commission eyes retaliation vs. Trump steel tariffs: Report
The European Commission is looking into making current quotas on steel imports stricter as a countermeasure to President Trump’s recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the US, according to an article in Reuters.
Trump could levy tariffs on auto imports in April: Report
President Donald Trump said last week that he could place tariffs on auto imports, according to an article in Politico.
Section 232 tariffs are headed downstream
The Trump administration has revealed the list of derivative steel products being added to the Section 232 tariff list.
Leibowitz: In Trump’s brave new world of tariffs, what will stick and what will courts challenge?
With a chronic trade deficit, the administration will continue to cite more tariffs as necessary. This is in error, as noted above. Yet the base of President Trump’s support does not see it that way. More tariffs are possible. But the only way to reduce the US trade deficit substantially is to close the gap between savings and investment in the United States.