Hogan Lovells secures important ITC victory for Brazilian steel products

Washington, D.C., 21 July 2022 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells today secured a victory for Brazilian steel manufacturer Companhia Siderurgica Nacional S.A. (CSN) at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), which has issued final negative determinations following a five-year “sunset” review of antidumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) duties on cold-rolled steel (CRS) flat products imported from Brazil. The ITC ordered the removal of tariffs on Brazilian imports, determining that revoking the existing AD/CVD orders on imports of CRS products from Brazil would not be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. Concurrently, the ITC made affirmative determinations in its sunset reviews concerning duties on CRS products from China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, thereby maintaining existing AD/CVD duties on those products. The ITC, which held its final hearing on 24 May 2022, issued its decision here.

Washington, D.C.-based trade partner Craig Lewis, who represented CSN since the ITC’s original AD/CVD investigations and delivered closing arguments before the ITC at this sunset review hearing, said: “We applaud the ITC and its staff for its compiling of a detailed record, careful review of the evidence, and for coming to the right decision that imports from Brazil are not likely to injury the U.S. steel industry in the foreseeable future. We are thrilled to have secured this win for our client.”

In addition to Lewis, the Hogan Lovells team included International Trade & Investment partner Jonathan T. Stoel, International Trade & Investment counsel Michael Jacobson, International Trade & Arbitration advisor Maria A. Arboleda, and associate Greg Hawkins, all based in Washington, D.C.