Nippon’s Record of Undermining American Industry
Nippon Steel has repeatedly lied to American and global officials, and actions of Nippon’s executives have already cost jobs and compromised American steel production.
NIPPON HAS ALREADY HURT THE AMERICAN STEEL INDUSTRY
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DUMPING: According to the International Trade Administration, “dumping occurs when a foreign producer sells a product in the United States at a price that is below that producer’s sales price in the country of origin (“home market”), or at a price that is lower than the cost of production.”
When international corporations dump their products in the United States by selling them for less than fair value, it undermines our domestic industries and threatens every aspect of the supply chain.
Nippon has repeatedly dumped steel in the U.S. market for the sake of its own profits, according to non-partisan, global trade bodies.
The U.S. government imposed antidumping orders against Nippon Steel in 2016 and 2017 after investigations by the International Trade Commission (ITC) found that the company dumped imports from Japan and harmed the U.S. steel industry. The ITC found that dumped imports reduced production and production capacity, undermined U.S. producers’ financial performance and disrupted employment.
The United States maintained twelve anti-dumping orders on Nippon’s steel products over the past few years. U.S. Steel was an active participant in many of these anti-dumping cases.
If Nippon Steel gets control of U.S. Steel, it could use its status as a “domestic producer” to work against the trade cases from the inside.
The United States isn’t alone. Over the last decade, the European Union and at least eight other countries and US allies have instituted antidumping orders on Japanese products in order to prevent Nippon Steel and other suppliers from unfairly importing products.
Despite what its executives say, Nippon has repeatedly flooded U.S. markets with unfairly traded products.
Nippon Steel has often tried to persuade the ITC to roll back antidumping orders with claims that doing so would not lead to significant increases in Japanese imports or harm to the U.S. steel industry.
In 2011, the ITC trusted Nippon and revoked a major antidumping order. But in spite of Nippon’s promises, cheap imports from Japan flooded into the U.S. and again harmed our domestic industry.
As recently as April 2024, Nippon testified before the ITC that tariffs should be lifted from Japanese-made products. The ITC responded that revoking the existing antidumping order would be “likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States within a reasonably foreseeable time.”
NIPPON HAS A TRACK RECORD OF PRIORITIZING JAPANESE PRODUCTS
NIPPON STEEL IS A UNION-BUSTER
The USW’s relationship with Nippon affiliate Standard Steel at its Burnham, Pennsylvania plant has been troubled and mired in disputes, despite Nippon’s efforts to sugarcoat the dealings. Management has forced the union to file well-over 200 grievances since 2020, and numerous National Labor Relations Board unfair labor practice charges in the same period for all manner of employer misconduct, including making unilateral changes to negotiated terms and conditions.
Nippon is also a joint venture partner with another steelmaker at a steel plant in Calvert, Alabama. The USW conducted an organizing campaign in 2020, where management hired union-busting lawyers and ignored its contractual obligations to remain neutral, opposing the workers’ opportunity to have a voice in their future. In addition, another union-busting law firm appeared on the scene and filed National Labor Relations Board charges in a first-ever challenge of the legality of the union’s neutrality clause. The NLRB dismissed this frivolous claim in early 2021.