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
,
[email protected]
, 202-445-9858.
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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
