Globe Specialty Metals welcomes duties on silicon metal imports from Kazakhstan

Globe Specialty Metals, a subsidiary of Ferroglobe and Mississippi Silicon, welcomed news on November 30th that the U.S. Department of Commerce will impose preliminary duties of 120% on all silicon metal imports from Kazakhstan. The announcement is part of ongoing investigations of unfairly-traded silicon metal imports from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Malaysia and Kazakhstan. The U.S. International Trade Commission has preliminarily determined that imports from these four countries are a cause of material injury to the U.S. industry. "Unfair trade practices by foreign suppliers have been an ongoing challenge for our industry," said Marco Levi, Chief Executive Officer of GSM's parent, Ferroglobe. "These duties will facilitate normalization of the U.S. market as the government responds to unfairly-traded imports. We appreciate the diligent efforts by the Commerce Department in this investigation. 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. Following this announcement, preliminary determinations will be announced in the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland investigations on December 8, 2020, and in the Malaysia investigation on January 27, 2021.