In multiple petitions filed on January 18, 2023, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (collectively, “the Petitioners”) requested the imposition of antidumping duties on U.S. imports of certain tin- and chromium-coated steel sheet products (“tin mill products”) from Canada, China, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom and the imposition of countervailing duties on the same subject merchandise imported from China.

The scope of the petitions covers certain tin mill products primarily used as welded can bodies for food, aerosol, paint, filtration and general line applications and as caps and closures for glass containers because of their corrosion-resistance qualities:  “tin mill flat-rolled products that are coated or plated with tin, chromium, or chromium oxides”; tinplate, which is a “[f]lat-rolled steel product[] coated with tin”; and tin-free steel (also known as electrolytic chromium-coated steel), which is a “[f]lat-rolled steel product[] coated with chromium or chromium oxides[.]”  The scope includes all these tin mill products “regardless of thickness, width, form (in coils or cut sheets), coating type (electrolytic or otherwise), edge (trimmed, untrimmed or further processed, such as scroll cut), coating thickness, surface finish, temper, coating metal (tin, chromium, chromium oxide), reduction (single- or double-reduced), and whether or not coated with a plastic material.”

In support of their dumping allegations, the Petitioners reference data showing the volume of imports from the subject countries between 2019 and November 2022, increasing 21.1% from 2019 to 2021 and increasing by another 21.1% from January–November 2021 to January–November 2022.  The Petitioners also bolster their subsidization allegations by detailing how “producers of tin mill products in China are benefitting from a variety of subsidy programs provided in their home market, including export subsidies.”  The petitions conclude by alleging “the future of the domestic industry is in grave peril” and warning “[i]f trade relief is not granted soon, the United States may lose its ability to make tin mill products.” 

The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration now has 20 days following the filing of the petitions to determine whether to grant the Petitioners’ request for an investigation based upon their claims.  Meanwhile, the International Trade Commission has 45 days to issue a preliminary determination on whether there is a reasonable indication that the subject imports are causing or threatening to cause material injury to the domestic industry.