Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced that it w ould be indefinitely idling its tinplate production plant in Weirton, West Virginia, in April 2024.
The company says the need to idle the Weirton plant directly results from the unanimous decision issued by all four members of the International Trade Commission (ITC) negating the implementation of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on tin mill products calculated by the Department of Commerce. A WARN notice is being issued today to approximately 900 impacted employees. These employees will be provided relocation opportunities to work at other Cliffs’ facilities and/or severance packages.
In January 2023, Cleveland-Cliffs and co-petitioners, the United Steelworkers (USW), filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions related to unfairly traded tin and chromium-coated sheet steel products. After finding evidence of dumping and subsidization, on January 5, 2024, the Department of Commerce announced duties in four countries: Canada, China, Germany, and South Korea. However, on February 6, the ITC unanimously rejected these tariffs.
"We worked very closely with our partners at the USW on this solution to save Weirton, and together fought tirelessly for its survival,” says Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs' Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. “In our final effort to maintain tinplate production here in America, we proved that we are forced to operate on an uneven playing field and that the deck was stacked in favor of the importers. Despite the Department of Commerce finding evidence of dumping and subsidization from respondent countries, the ITC shockingly ruled against the imposition of tariffs, keeping the uneven playing field in place and making it impossible for us to viably produce tinplate.”
Cliffs maintains its 2024 sales volume guidance of 16.5 million tons of steel products.
Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America. Founded in 1847 as a mine operator, Cliffs also is the largest manufacturer of iron ore pellets in North America. The company is vertically integrated from mined raw materials, direct reduced iron, and ferrous scrap to primary steelmaking and downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing. Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest steel supplier to the automotive industry in North America. It serves a diverse range of other markets due to its comprehensive offering of flat-rolled steel products. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs employs approximately 28,000 people across its United States and Canada operations.
