US int’l trade commission strikes down dumping duties on food can steel imports

WASHINGTON — The US International Trade Commission (USITC) on Tuesday voted to strike down anti-dumping duties on tin mill steel used in food cans from Canada, China, Germany and South Korea, finding that these imports do not injure domestic steelmakers.

The independent panel in a statement said it also voted to terminate the tin mill steel antidumping duty investigation for South Korea.

The vote overturns the Commerce Department’s imposition of anti-dumping duties of 2.69% to 6.88% on tin mill steel — the shiny silver metal widely used in cans for such items as food, paint and aerosol products — from South Korea, Germany and Canada. For Chinese imports, it also revokes anti-dumping duties of 122.5% and anti-subsidy duties on tin mill imports.

The decision deals a blow to the second-largest US steelmaker, Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers union, which petitioned the Commerce Department last year for doubleand triple-digit duties, alleging dumping below fair market value.

The petition had included tin mill steel from the Netherlands,

Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, but the Commerce Department’s investigation did not impose duties on these suppliers.

Cleveland-Cliffs said in a statement that it “clearly demonstrated material injury to the domestic industry and Steelworkers from dumped and subsidized imports of tin mill products” but added that it would respect the commission’s ruling.

The Can Manufacturers Institute lauded the USITC vote as substantiating its view that the Cleveland-Cliffs petition “is completely unfounded.”

The trade group said that domestic steelmakers have not been able to supply the volumes required by can manufacturers, especially for high-grade tin mill steel used in two-piece cans, forcing them to rely on imports. But several US facilities producing tin mill steel have ceased production in recent years, including the idling of US Steel Corp.’s Gary, Indiana tin mill operations last year that led to the layoff of 244 workers. US Steel cited reduced demand and “significantly increased tin mill imports.”

Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng said Canada was pleased with the ruling, adding that Canadian tin mill producers “are a critical part of our cross-border steel industry.

Tin mill imports from producers in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey remain subject to the 25% US “Section 232” steel tariffs imposed by former president Donald Trump in 2018. North American, European and UK producers are subject to tariff-rate quota arrangements.