Posted on 12 Aug 2015
Butler County-based steelmaker AK Steel Holding Corp. announced Tuesday it has joined other major domestic steel producers in filing anti-dumping and counter-vailing duty petitions related to hot-rolled steel.
This is the third trade case AK Steel has joined this year. Earnings have suffered in 2015 due to lower selling prices, which the company blames partly on rising imports that are artificially low priced.
The manufacturer announced July 28 petitions against eight countries related to cold-rolled steel, used to make appliances, automotive products, containers and construction materials.
In June, AK Steel filed complaints in partnership with other steel producers related to corrosion-resistant steel.
The newest petition charges that unfairly-traded imports of certain hot-rolled steel flat products from Australia, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom are causing material injury to the domestic industry. Producers from those seven countries are being accused of selling hot-rolled steel in the U.S. market at less than fair value.
The petitions also allege that the foreign producers in Brazil, South Korea, and Turkey benefit from subsidies provided by their governments.
“AK Steel and other domestic steel manufacturers have been significantly impacted by the onslaught of what we believe are unfairly traded imports of hot-rolled steel,” said James Wainscott, chairman, president and chief executive officer of AK Steel, in a written statement. “Imports have been flooding our shores, substantially reducing selling prices, shipment volumes, and earnings.”
Hot-rolled steel — primarily used in appliances, automotive products, heavy machinery, machine parts, nonresidential construction and transportation equipment — comprised over 15 percent of AK Steel’s shipments last year.
The petitions were filed concurrently Tuesday with the United States Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Imports of hot-rolled steel from the countries targeted by this case increased by approximately 73 percent from 2012 to 2014, rising from 1.9 million tons to 3.3 million tons, according to AK Steel.
AK Steel is headquartered in West Chester Twp. Between operations in West Chester and the Middletown Works steel plant, AK Steel employs approximately 2,400 full-time workers in Butler County, making it the county’s third-largest employer. AK Steel facilities in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota employ more than 8,000 altogether and produce flat-rolled carbon, electrical and stainless steels used by the automotive, appliance, construction and manufacturing markets.
