AK Steel Applauds U.S. International Trade Commission's Preliminary Ruling Against Unfairly Traded Imports of Non-Oriented Electrical Steel

WEST CHESTER, Ohio, Dec. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said today that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has made a unanimous preliminary determination that non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) produced in several foreign countries is causing injury to AK Steel.  The preliminary injury determination means that cases against NOES producers in six countries will proceed.

"We applaud the ITC's preliminary ruling against unfairly traded imports of non-oriented electrical steel," said James L. Wainscott, Chairman, President and CEO of AK Steel.  "The rules of fair trade apply to all of our competitors, and we will continue to vigorously defend our ability to compete by using every tool at our disposal."

AK Steel filed petitions with the ITC and the United States Department of Commerce (Commerce Department) on September 30, 2013 charging that unfairly traded imports of NOES from China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden and Taiwan were causing material injury to the domestic industry.  Antidumping cases were filed against all six countries, in addition to countervailing duty cases alleging subsidization in China, South Korea and Taiwan.  The cases now move to the Commerce Department for determinations as to whether foreign producers are violating U.S. antidumping law by selling their products at less than fair value in the United States, and U.S. countervailing duty law covering government subsidies. 

The Commerce Department will calculate antidumping margins, which are designed to offset the amount by which the product is sold at less than fair value, and subsidy rates, which are designed to offset the amount by which the product benefits from unfair government subsidies.  Estimated antidumping duties will be collected from importers as of the date of the Commerce Department's preliminary determinations, which will occur on March 26, 2014.  If foreign producers attempt to "beat the clock" by making massive shipments into the U.S. market before the Commerce Department's preliminary determinations, antidumping and countervailing duties can be imposed retroactively beginning 90 days prior to the preliminary determinations. 

NOES is an alloy steel that contains by weight more than 1.00 percent of silicon and not more than 0.08 percent of carbon or 1.5 percent of aluminum and has a surface oxide coating, to which an insulation coating may be applied.  The petitions cover NOES whether or not in coils, regardless of width, and having a thickness of 0.20 mm or more.  NOES is manufactured using a specialized rolling and annealing process.  It has a core loss that is substantially equal in any direction of magnetization in the plane of the material.  Based on these unique product characteristics, NOES is used primarily in the production of motors and generators. 

AK Steel is represented in these actions by Joe Dorn and Steve Jones of the law firm King & Spalding LLP.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this release are intended to be, and hereby are identified as "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  AK Steel cautions readers that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently expected by its management, including those risks and uncertainties discussed in AK Steel Holding Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, its subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Except as required by law, AK Steel disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking statements to reflect future developments or events.

AK Steel

AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, primarily for automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets.  The company employs about 6,100 men and women in Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville, Ohio; Butler, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Kentucky; Rockport, Indiana; and its corporate headquarters in West Chester, Ohio.  Additional information about AK Steel is available on the company's web site at www.aksteel.com.

AK Tube LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AK Steel, employs about 300 men and women in plants in Walbridge, Ohio and Columbus, Indiana.  AK Tube produces carbon and stainless electric resistance welded (ERW) tubular steel products for truck, automotive and other markets.  Additional information about AK Tube LLC is available on its web site at www.aktube.com.

AK Coal Resources, Inc., another wholly-owned subsidiary of AK Steel, produces metallurgical coal from reserves in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.  AK Steel also owns 49.9% of Magnetation LLC, a joint venture headquartered in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, which produces iron ore concentrate from previously mined ore reserves. 

SOURCE AK Steel