The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rejected a request for increased duties on imported steel, determining domestic producers are “not materially injured” by the imports.
The federal investigation into duties on imported tin was launched in response to a petition by Ohio-based mining company Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers Union. The joint group sought duties ranging from 47 percent to 300 percent on tin imports from eight countries: China, Canada, Germany, South Korea, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Following that petition, the U.S. Department of Commerce recommended dumping rates in January 2024 of 123 percent for Chinese tin imports, 5 percent for Canadian tin imports, and 7 percent for German tin imports. The department also set dumping rates for some tin imported from South Korea. The department rejected the need for tariffs on tin imported from the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
On 6 February, the ITC announced its unanimous finding that the impact of tin imports from China, Canada, and Germany were negligible and rejected the need for imposing any tariffs. A similar result was found for South Korea.
“The commission further found that the imports of these products from South Korea that Commerce has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value are negligible and voted to terminate the antidumping duty investigation concerning South Korea,” the ITC said in a statement.
Consumer Brands Association President and CEO David Chavern praised the commission’s decision.
"The 0-4 vote against the tariffs, combined with the Department of Commerce's final duty determination in January, is a complete repudiation of a petition brought by steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs,” Chavern said. “If the tariffs had been imposed at the levels requested by Cleveland-Cliffs, nearly 40,000 manufacturing jobs would have been put at risk, with consumer prices for canned goods soaring up to 30 percent.”
Photo courtesy of Fedor Korolevskiy/Shutterstock
