CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) participated in a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) hearing on tin mill products, a case that is critical for Cleveland-Cliffs’ Weirton, W.Va. operations and its workers.
Currently, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the United Steelworkers are petitioning the U.S. Department of Commerce and the ITC seeking countervailing duties on imports of tin mill products from China in January 2023 and antidumping duties on imports of tin mill products from Canada, China, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
During her remarks, Senator Capito emphasized the importance of Cleveland-Cliffs’ operations to the Weirton community, the rich history of steel production in that region of West Virginia, the significance of American-made steel for our national security, and the United States’ leadership in clean steel production. Senator Capito additionally highlighted the growing body of evidence that American tin mill steel production has suffered because of unfair international trade practices.
BACKGROUND:
On February 2, 2023, Senator Capito led a letter expressing support for the antidumping and countervailing duty petitions filed by Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers.On August 17, 2023, in its preliminary determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce found that producers in Canada, China, and Germany are engaged in unfair trade of tin mill products. The Department placed preliminary duties of 122.5% on tin mill imports from a Chinese company that was not cooperating in the investigation, 2.02% on imports from Germany, and 5.29% on those from Canada.
Senator Capito’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are included below:
“Good morning Chairman Johanson and Commissioners Schmidtlein, Kearns, and Karpel.
“Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony for this hearing, which is critical for Cleveland-Cliffs’ Weirton operations and its workers who I represent in the U.S. Senate.
“The purpose of my testimony is to lend my full support to Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers in their petition for relief from dumped and subsidized imports of tin mill products from Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
“The Cleveland-Cliffs operations in Weirton, West Virginia currently employs around 600 people but they previously employed nearly 900 hard-working men and women in the tristate area of West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
“Those operations also play a crucial role in the economic stability and well-being of our northern panhandle community.
“For over a century, steelmaking has been integral to the economy of the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.
“Now, the fate of this plant is in jeopardy because unfair trade in the tin mill market has caused material injury, including lost sales and hundreds of layoffs to domestic producers.
“Cleveland-Cliffs and its Union partners have come to this Commission seeking relief, and in my opinion they are entitled to it.
“The workers at Cleveland-Cliffs’ Weirton plant are some of the most seasoned, innovative, and hard-working steelworkers in the world. They can compete with anyone on a level playing field.
“I know these people. I’ve known them all my life. I am incredibly confident in their ability to succeed.
“They are a proud and dedicated group of men and women and they recognize both the significance of their work and the rich history of their plant.
“To speak on that history, this region has been supported by steel production for over 120 years.
“However, due to unfair trade practices, the Weirton plant now depends entirely on tin mill steel production.
“If we lose that product, we lose the whole facility, and the long and proud history of steel production at Weirton will come to an end.
“That would not only be devastating to the region but to the family of every steelworker who puts food on the table through their paycheck.
“Furthermore, it will have dire ramifications for everyone in this hard-working community that has already suffered too much from the impact of unfair trade left un-remedied.
“Weirton Steel operations once employed well over 10,000 employees. Over the last several decades, as unfair trade plagued the steel industry and the operations went from owner to owner, we were faced with the loss of production and ever decreasing job opportunities.
“This is why we were so encouraged when Cleveland-Cliffs acquired these assets in 2020.
“For the first time in a long time, new jobs were added and investments were being made.
“Cleveland-Cliffs is a technically sophisticated, American company committed to good jobs and making high-quality products right here in the United States.
“This partnership made obvious sense and the investments that it created made a sustained and positive impact in this region and in the economy.
“Unfortunately, these investments have been and continue to be undermined by dumped and subsidized tin mill imports from Canada, China, and Germany. With the surge of imports contributing to an oversupply in the U.S. market.
“By late 2022, the Cleveland-Cliffs Weirton order book had been decimated, leaving the company a difficult choice: to either close the plant or seek trade relief.
“Fortunately for everyone in Weirton, Cleveland-Cliffs and its Union partners chose to bring this case.
“In its preliminary determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce found that producers in Canada, China, and Germany are engaged in unfair trade of tin mill products. There is no doubt that the domestic producers are being injured by this unfair trade.
“Since the summer of 2022, Cleveland-Cliffs and U.S. Steel have been forced to lay off hundreds of workers at their tin mill facilities.
“This figure includes 300 Weirton employees, 300 of my constituents, who were laid off this summer when imports continued to attack the U.S. market even after the launch of these cases.
“The decline of the U.S. tin mill market over the past decade is evident in the fact that there are only three domestic producers of tin mill products left in the United States.
“Tin mill steel is used to make tin cans, among other things, and we need to make tin mill steel here in America to have a secure food supply. Simply put, the United States cannot afford to lose any more production of this vital product.
“We recently saw first-hand the importance of strong domestic supply chains and in particular, the importance of canned food during a global pandemic.
“This was a strong illustration of just how important it is for Americans to maintain critical supply chains and why a healthy tin mill industry in the United States is necessary for our own food security.
“Tin cans and other forms of food packaging need a stable and reliable domestic source of high-quality tin mill product. As such, we must ensure that we have a healthy and strong full supply chain and failure to grant trade relief will put domestic production at risk.
“That is the only supply issue we should be concerned about: that we will lose the ability to make our own tin mill steel and become wholly dependent on imports for such an essential item.
“I want to make one point very clear: I believe in market competition. I believe that our economic system should reward hard work and innovation.
“But I do not believe that foreign companies should be able to engage in unfair trade practices. That these companies can attack American workers and businesses, and that they can make it impossible for American companies like Cleveland-Cliffs to get a fair rate of return.
“No one is asking for ‘protectionism’ today. Cleveland-Cliffs and its Union partner simply want a fair chance to compete.
“I will close by respectfully requesting that you carefully examine all the details the petitioners have put on the record. The facts here show that unfair trade has undermined the U-S tin mill market.
“You will see significant market share loss, a lack of profitability, and the loss of jobs and idling of tin mill lines.
“You will see, as I previously noted, there are only two companies left who can make these advanced and high-grade products in the United States from raw materials to finishing.
“We cannot afford to wait for any more harm because this harm would likely cause tin mill production to cease in the United States and leave our country solely reliant on imports of this vital material.
“Finally, and most important to me, any inaction by the Commission on this case will continue to upend the livelihoods of 900 hard-working men and women in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.
“As such, I encourage you to use all the authorities we in Congress have given you to aggressively enforce U.S. trade laws to keep manufacturing and American jobs in the United States.
“Again, I thank you for the opportunity to testify today.”
