ARLINGTON, Va. — The Consumer Brands Association is celebrating a “complete rejection” of steel import tariffs on tin mills proposed by Cleveland-Cliffs, a steel conglomerate, by mid-2023. On Feb. 6, the International Trade Commission (ITC) voted unanimously to reject a final duty determination issued by the Department of Commerce (DOC) and effectively ended the Cleveland-Cliffs campaign to impose duties of up to 300%.
According to the International Trade Administration, the ITC has the final say on any antidumping and countervailing duty determinations, as it is the agency’s responsibility to investigate how those subsidized imports will hurt US industry members — in this case, the industries canned. On review, the ITC voted against adopting the duties proposed by the DOC in January, finding that they would actually harm US workers and consumers.
“The effort led by Consumer Brands resulted in a real victory for US consumers and manufacturers with the International Trade Commission’s unanimous vote to reject new tariffs on tin steel,” said David Chavern, president and chief executive officer of the Consumer Brands Association. “…If tariffs were imposed at the levels requested by Cleveland-Cliffs, nearly 40,000 manufacturing jobs would be at risk, with consumer prices for canned goods rising as much as 30%.”
According to Chavern, the unanimous vote ensures that no antidumping or countervailing duties will be imposed for Canada, China, Germany, Korea, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey or the United Kingdom.
“Today’s result confirms what we have known all along – there is no merit to Cleveland-Cliffs’ claims,” he added. “The ITC not only voted today to protect thousands of American manufacturing jobs, but to preserve the integrity of our nation’s trade remedy process.”
“America’s food, beverage, household and personal care manufacturers are committed to working with the administration to preserve American jobs, protect the competitiveness of American manufacturing and work toward solutions that address issues in supply chain and business impacting the cost of everyday essential products,” Chavern concluded.
The Consumer Brands Association has been fighting this tariff proposal for the past six months, including writing a letter of objection to the ITC and DOC, signed by 28 allied stakeholders across the manufacturing, food retail and agriculture sectors, including the Pet Food Institute (PFI).
Following the ITC’s decision, PFI President and CEO Dana Brooks announced the association’s support for the move on February 7.
“The decision is a victory for consumers and the pet food industry,” Brooks said in a statement. “This decision shows the complete lack of merit of the claims of the petitioner, Cleveland-Cliffs, and means that there are no duties on tinned steel products imported from Canada, China, Germany, and Korea. The fact Cleveland-Cliffs will not meet the needs of American manufacturers and the imposition of these tariffs will harm the economy for US manufacturers, workers and consumers.
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