Current:Home > InvestCleveland-Cliffs to shutter West Virginia tin plant and lay off 900 after tariff ruling -Zenith Profit Hub
Cleveland-Cliffs to shutter West Virginia tin plant and lay off 900 after tariff ruling
View
Date:2025-04-18 18:12:17
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Cleveland-Cliffs announced Thursday that it is shutting down a northern West Virginia tin production facility indefinitely and plans to lay off 900 workers after the International Trade Commission voted against imposing tariffs on tin imports.
The trade commission ruled earlier this year that no anti-dumping and countervailing duties will be imposed on tin products from Canada, China and Germany because those imports do not sufficiently harm the U.S. steel industry. The U.S. Department of Commerce had determined those products were sold in the United States at less than fair value and subsidized by the Chinese government.
The trade commission also voted to stop a duty investigation into tin products shipped from South Korea.
Anti-dumping and countervailing duties are levied against foreign governments that subsidize products so they can be sold below cost.
Cleveland-Cliffs said it will offer either severance packages or opportunities for workers in Weirton to be relocated to its other facilities. The Cleveland-based company employs 28,000 workers in the United States and Canada.
Weirton is a city of 19,000 residents along the Ohio River about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Pittsburgh.
Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the company and the United Steelworkers union “fought tirelessly” to keep the Weirton plant open.
“In what was 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,” Goncalves said in a statement. The trade commission ruling was shocking and made it “impossible for us to viably produce tinplate.”
Goncalves added that the trade commission’s decision “is a travesty for America, middle-class jobs, and our critical food supply chains. This bad outcome requires better and stronger trade laws. We will continue to work tirelessly with our Congressional champions who fought with us in this case to improve the trade laws so that the American industry and our workers are not left behind.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said the trade commission turned “a blind eye” to Cleveland-Cliffs workers.
The plant’s closing “is an absolute injustice not only to American workers, but to the very principle of fair competition, and it will undoubtedly weaken our economic and national security,” Manchin said.
The announcement is the latest blow for the steel industry in West Virginia’s northern panhandle. In 2022, Cleveland-Cliffs announced the closing of a coke-making facility that employed about 280 workers in Follansbee.
Cleveland-Cliffs’ tin facility in Weirton was once a nearly 800-acre property operated by Weirton Steel, which employed 6,100 workers in 1994 and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003.
International Steel Group bought Weirton Steel in federal bankruptcy court in 2003. The property changed hands again a few years later, ultimately ending up a part of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, which sold its U.S. holdings to Cleveland-Cliffs in 2020.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she was “devastated” by the Cleveland-Cliffs announcement and that the trade commission’s move to reverse the Commerce Department’s decision on tin product duties ‘remains concerning and will be examined thoroughly.”
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Weaponizing the American flag as a tool of hate
- Michigan man arrested for planning mass killing at synagogue
- Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell Celebrates Carly's 14th Birthday With Sweet Tribute
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- How to show up for teens when big emotions arise
- Uh-oh. A new tropical mosquito has come to Florida. The buzz it's creating isn't good
- Cyclone Freddy shattered records. People lost everything. How does the healing begin?
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Joe Biden Must Convince Climate Voters He’s a True Believer
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Allow Viola Davis to Give You a Lesson on Self-Love and Beauty
- You'll Be Crazy in Love With Beyoncé and Jay-Z's London Photo Diary
- The simple intervention that may keep Black moms healthier
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Lori Vallow Case: Idaho Mom Indicted on New Murder Conspiracy Charge
- Vehicle-to-Grid Charging for Electric Cars Gets Lift from Major U.S. Utility
- This safety-net hospital doctor treats mostly uninsured and undocumented patients
Recommendation
Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
Scientists sequence Beethoven's genome for clues into his painful past
On Father's Day Jim Gaffigan ponders the peculiar lives of childless men
Lowe’s, Walgreens Tackle Electric Car Charging Dilemma in the U.S.
'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard Celebrate Her Birthday Ahead of Duggar Family Secrets Release
Rihanna Shares Message on Embracing Motherhood With Topless Maternity Shoot
Bob Huggins resigns as West Virginia men's basketball coach after DUI arrest in Pittsburgh