WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American
manufacturers Globe Specialty Metals, Inc., a subsidiary of
Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) ("GSM"), and Mississippi Silicon LLC
("MS"), together representing the majority of American silicon
metal production, today welcomed news that the U.S. Department of
Commerce ("Commerce") will impose preliminary duties of up to
47.54% on all silicon metal imports from Iceland and from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Today's announcement is the latest development in ongoing
investigations of unfairly-traded silicon metal imports from
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Iceland, Malaysia and Kazakhstan and closely follows an
announcement that Commerce will impose preliminary duties up
to 120% on all silicon metal import from Kazakhstan. In August, the U.S. International
Trade Commission (ITC) preliminarily determined that imports
from all four countries are a cause of material injury to the U.S.
industry.
"The Commerce Department's action to address unfairly-traded
imports from Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Iceland
come as good news to our business, our workers, and our entire
industry," said Eddie Boardwine,
Chief Operations Officer of MS. "We greatly appreciate the
government's efforts to stop unfair trade practices and look
forward to seeing conditions in the U.S. market reflect free and
fair trade of silicon metal."
On June 30, 2020, GSM and MS filed
petitions to stop silicon metal producers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Malaysia and Kazakhstan from selling dumped and unfairly
subsidized silicon metal imports into the
United States. In their petitions, the companies asked the
Commerce and ITC to impose duties on to offset unfair pricing and
unfair subsidies.
"The fact that suppliers in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Iceland
have tilted the playing field has made it really difficult for us
to even compete," said Marco Levi,
Chief Executive Officer of GSM's parent, Ferroglobe. "Like the
duties recently imposed on imports from Kazakhstan, these duties will level the
playing field and restore real, honest competition. We appreciate
the diligent efforts by the Commerce Department to see that our
trade rules are followed."
Following today's announcement, preliminary determinations will
be announced in the Malaysia
investigation on January 27,
2021.
Silicon metal is an important element added to various grades of
aluminum alloys used in performance applications such as automotive
components and aerospace products. Silicon metal also is a critical
raw material in the production of silicone compounds used in
numerous products including sealants, adhesives, rubber gaskets,
caulking compounds, lubricants, food additives, coatings, polishes,
and cosmetics, among others. In addition, silicon metal is the base
material in the production of polysilicon, a purified form of
silicon used in solar cells and semi-conductors.
For more on the petitions, see the companies' press
release.
For more on the ITC's investigation, see the
Commission's press release.
For more on Commerce's
investigations, see the agency's press release.
For more
on Commerce's preliminary determination in the Kazakhstan investigation, see Globe's and
Mississippi Silicon's press release.
About GSM and MS
Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. is a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary
of Ferroglobe PLC, one of the world's leading suppliers of silicon
metal, silicon- and manganese- based specialty alloys and
ferroalloys, serving a customer base across the globe in dynamic
and fast-growing end markets, such as solar, automotive, consumer
products, construction and energy. Through its subsidiaries, GSM
owns metallurgical manufacturing facilities and other operations in
Ohio, West Virginia, New
York, Alabama, Indiana, Florida and Kentucky.
Mississippi Silicon LLC is a partnership between Rima Holding
USA, Inc. and Clean Tech I LLC.
Rima Holding USA Inc. is the
majority owner of MS and also is associated with Rima Industrial
S/A, a leading ferroalloy and non-ferrous metals producer in
Brazil. Clean Tech I LLC is a
partnership composed of strategic investors and financial advisers.
MS's manufacturing operation is based in Burnsville, MS, and its silicon metal serves
customers throughout the United
States.
Globe and Mississippi Silicon are represented in these
proceedings by Adam H. Gordon, Esq.
of The Bristol Group PLLC.
For more information,
visit http://investor.ferroglobe.com and https://www.missilicon.com/.
Contact Elizabeth Heaton,
elizabeth@EAHstrategiesLLC.com, 202-445-9858.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-silicon-metal-producers-welcome-duties-on-unfairly-traded-silicon-metal-imports-from-bosnia-and-herzegovina-iceland-301188854.html
SOURCE Globe Specialty Metals / Mississippi Silicon