Ottawa: Canada has taken official steps by requesting consultations with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to dispute US import duties on steel and aluminum products from Canada, according to a statement issued by the trade organization.

The request was circulated to WTO members Thursday, said the statement.

Canada argued that US measures, which ceased its exemption and increased duties, contravene US obligations under GATT 1994, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mary Ng, minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development, said Wednesday that Canada was seeking formal consultations with the US regarding tariffs on steel and aluminum.

“Canada is deeply disappointed that the US has chosen to reimpose these unjustified tariffs that hurt workers and businesses on both sides of the border,” Ng said in the statement. “These unilateral tariffs violate the United States’ obligations under both the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the WTO Agreement.”

Francois-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry, made a statement Thursday that Canadian steel and aluminum form the basis of North America’s critical infrastructure and manufacturing base, while supporting vital US industries, including defense, shipbuilding and automotive.

The industry minister said he directed Industry Canada to prioritise funding of projects that use predominantly Canadian steel and aluminum.

Canada announced Wednesday reciprocal tariffs on US steel and aluminum imports worth 29.8 billion Canadian dollars ($20.7 billion). This trade move came in response to US President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports coming into effect on the same day.

February 10, US President Donald Trump signed proclamations to raise tariffs on aluminum from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, aligning them with the existing tariff rate for steel.

He also decided to eliminate duty-free quotas, exemptions, and exclusions for steel and aluminum tariffs. These measures were set to take effect March 12.

March 11, Trump announced a plan to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50 per cent in response to tariffs on electricity exports from the Canadian province of Ontario. But the plan was reversed later that day after Ontario dropped the electricity export tariffs affecting three US states.

IANS

Harrisburg: The bid by Japan’s Nippon Steel to buy US Steel may have a new lease on life after the Biden Administration extended a deadline for the Japanese steelmaker to abandon plans to acquire the storied Pittsburgh company after President Joe Biden blocked the deal.

The new deadline, now in mid-June, was viewed by US Steel — and investors — as an opportunity for the companies to complete the acquisition, even though President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in a week, also opposes the deal.

Biden nixed the acquisition this month citing a potential threat to national security, though the US Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, failed to reach a consensus on the security issue.

“We are pleased that CFIUS has granted an extension to June 18, 2025 of the requirement in President Biden’s Executive Order that the parties permanently abandon the transaction,” US Steel said in a statement Sunday. “We look forward to completing the transaction, which secures the best future for the American steel industry and all our stakeholders.”

Shares of US Steel rose almost 7 per cent when markets opened Monday.

The proposed deal kicked up an election-year political maelstrom across America’s industrial heartland and quickly drew vows by Biden and Trump from the campaign trail in a critical battleground state to block the deal.

Even after the election, Trump wrote on social media in December that he is “totally against” US Steel being bought by a foreign company and said he would block the deal as president. He reiterated that stance this month after it was blocked by Biden.

However, a CFIUS composed of Trump appointees and Trump himself may be free to allow the deal to go through, or negotiate new terms.

Dennis Unkovic, a Pittsburgh lawyer who works on international business transactions, including deals in which CFIUS approval was required, said a new CFIUS and a new president are not legally bound by Biden’s decision.

CFIUS giving the parties an extra six months to unwind the deal is unusual, Unkovic said. It wasn’t immediately clear why CFIUS extended the deadline, but Unkovic pointed to reports that Biden’s CFIUS was divided over whether it was a security threat.

“Extending this from the 30 days to the 180 days was a sign that there were people in the Biden administration that would like somebody to take a second look at this,” Unkovic said.

CFIUS’ job is to see if there are workarounds or modifications to a deal to allow it to go through, and rarely is a deal turned down, Unkovic said. After CFIUS takes another look at it, it could still be up to Trump to decide.

“Now how he comes down on it, who knows?” Unkovic said.

Nippon Steel and US Steel have insisted that the deal presents no national security problem for the US, said Biden’s decision to block it was a violation of legal due process and a political calculation.

The two steel companies sued in federal court three days after Biden announcement and accused the head of the Steelworkers union and a rival steelmaker of working together to scuttle the buyout in a separate lawsuit.

The United Steelworkers have opposed the deal, concerned over whether the company would honor existing labour agreements or slash jobs, and questioned Nippon Steel’s status as an honest broker for US national trade interests.

However, some union members have come out in favour of the deal. Nippon Steel — the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker — says its ability to invest in US Steel’s aging blast furnace plants in Pennsylvania and Indiana will boost the ability of the US to compete in an industry dominated by China.

US Steel has warned that, without Nippon Steel’s cash, it will shift production away from the blast furnaces to cheaper non-union electric arc furnaces and move its headquarters out of Pittsburgh.

Washington: Nippon Steel and US Steel are filing a federal lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s decision to block a proposed nearly $15 billion deal for Nippon to acquire Pittsburgh-based US Steel.

The suit, filed Monday in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, alleges that it was a political decision and violated the companies’ due process.

Nippon Steel had promised to invest $2.7 billion in US Steel’s aging blast furnace operations in Gary, Indiana, and Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley. It also vowed not to reduce production capacity in the United States over the next decade without first getting US government approval.

Biden on Friday decided to stop the Nippon takeover — after federal regulators deadlocked on whether to approve it — because “a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority. … Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure,” he said in a statement.

While administration officials have said the move is unrelated to Japan’s relationship with the US — this is the first time a US president has blocked a merger between a US and Japanese firm.

Biden departs the White House in just a few weeks.

The president’s decision to block the deal comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of the deal last month, and sent a long-awaited report on the merger to Biden.

PTI

Washington: President Joe Biden has rejected the nearly $15 billion proposed deal for Nippon Steel of Japan to purchase Pittsburgh-based US Steel — affirming his vow in March to block the acquisition.

“We need major US companies representing the major share of US steelmaking capacity to keep leading the fight on behalf of America’s national interests,” Biden said in a Friday morning statement.

His decision comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of the deal last month, and sent a long-awaited report on the merger to Biden who had 15 days to reach a final decision.

PTI

Pittsburg: US Steel, the Pittsburgh steel producer that played a key role in the nation’s industrialisation, is being acquired by Nippon Steel in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $14.1 billion.

The transaction is worth about $14.9 billion when including the assumption of debt.

The price tag for US Steel is nearly double what was offered just four months ago by rival Cleveland Cliffs. US Steel, which rejected that offer, confirmed the offering price from Nippon early Monday.

US Steel will keep its name and its headquarters in Pittsburgh, where it was founded in 1901 by J P Morgan, Andrew Carnegie. Nippon said that it will also honor all collective bargaining agreements in place with the United Steelworkers and other employees, and is committed to maintaining its relationship with workers.

Soaring prices have helped fuel consolidation in the steel industry this decade. Steel prices more than quadrupled near the start of the pandemic to near $2,000 per metric ton by the summer of 2021 as supply chains experienced gridlock, a symptom of surging demand for goods and the lack of anticipation of that demand.

Nippon, which will pay $55 per share for US Steel, said Monday that the deal will bolster its manufacturing and technology capabilities. It will also expand Nippon’s production in the US and add to its positions in Japan, India and the ASEAN region.

Nippon said the acquisition is anticipated to bring its total annual crude steel capacity to 86 million tonnes and help it capitalise on growing demand for high-grade steel, automotive and electrical steel.

“The transaction builds on our presence in the United States and we are committed to honouring all of US Steel’s existing union contracts,” Nippon President Eiji Hashimoto said in a prepared statement.

US Steel CEO David Burritt said that the sale is beneficial to the United States, “ensuring a competitive, domestic steel industry, while strengthening our presence globally.”

The acquisition has been approved by the boards of both companies and is targeted to close in the second or third quarter of 2024. It still needs approval from US Steel shareholders.

Shares of United States Steel Corp. Soared more than 27 per cent before the opening bell Monday.

AP