DOJ, Importer Waiting on US 'Settlement Authority' to Resolve Section 232 Exclusion Case

DOJ and steel importer NLMK Pennsylvania are awaiting word from the U.S. "settlement authority" regarding NLMK's Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion case after the parties agreed to a settlement in principle, they said Jan. 2. The Court of International Trade gave the government and NLMK another stay in the case, granting them 30 additional days to file another status report (NLMK Pennsylvania v. United States, CIT # 21-00507).

Should the settlement authority approve the settlement, "the parties will be able to sign the settlement agreement and file the proposed stipulated judgment with the Court," DOJ and NLMK said.

NLMK sought 58 exclusions for two different types of semi-finished stainless steel slabs from Russia, which Commerce rejected after finding that the domestic industry was capable of timely making the slabs in enough quantities. The trade court found the agency didn't properly support the rejections (see 2301230027). The parties were arguing over the length of the remand period when settlement talks began.