[ferro-alloys.com]ArcelorMittal, Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp. are requesting tariff exclusions for up to 755,000 mt of slabs used at the two companies' sheet mill joint venture in Calvert, Alabama, according to a filing.

ArcelorMittal USA is set to supply 850,000 mt of slab in 2018 and about 900,000 mt in 2019, but the Calvert mill is still in need of an additional 4 million mt or more of slab to meet production capabilities and customer needs, the steelmaker said in a Wednesday filing made public Thursday.

It is able to source slab from Brazil, which despite being excluded from the tariffs is subject to an annual quota of 3.5 million mt for all semi-finished steel in 2018.

However, joint venture warns there is significant uncertainty as to whether it be able to receive an adequate supply of Brazilian slab. There is no Brazilian government quota administration to monitor the process and Brazilian mills are seeing an increase in demand from US mills.

"Because Brazil is the only country supplying slab to the US that is not subject to the 25% Section 232 tariff, there is a rush to export slab from Brazil, including from Brazilian mills that have not previously supplied slab to US producers," the joint venture said in its filing.

The steelmaker would also lose business as the mill rolls slabs produced by ArcelorMittal Mexico and then exports the hot-rolled coil back to Mexico.

If the exclusion is not granted, the mill warns ArcelorMittal Mexico would not toll process slabs with any other US producer, causing a loss of US jobs at the conversion operation.

The mill's fellow slab converters NLMK USA, Evraz North America, JSW USA and California Steel Industries have already sought relief from the tariffs for their slab needs.

Other domestic steelmakers have been vocal in their objections to the other converters filings.

Nucor, US Steel and AK Steel have all filed objections to the different exclusion requests. The steelmakers argue there is sufficient domestic production and warn that granting the exclusions would undermine the purpose of the Section 232 investigation and tariffs.

• [Editor:王可]