CSI, NLMK, Evraz Challenge Exclusion Objections

California Steel Industries, NLMK and Evraz have filed rebuttals to objections made by U.S. Steel, Nucor and AK Steel to their petitions requesting exclusions for steel slab imports necessary for production. The slab converters charge that domestic mills have misled Commerce in their objections, overstating the current availability of domestic slab and the capacity to produce it.

In its reply to the objection filed by Nucor, CSI said it is well documented there is a lack of commercial supply in the U.S., which was exacerbated by shutdowns of integrated mills. The domestic steel industry dropped from 35 operating integrated mills in the early 1980s to just three integrated domestic steel companies with a combined total of 10 blast furnace mills. The reduction in integrated mills was due largely to competition from low-cost minimills like Nucor, said CSI.