I don't know if you folks have been following this investigation..but it is very interesting.

To keep it simple, the fear is that illegal dumping of steel product by countries(mainly China) not paying tarrifs..by slyly rerouting stuff through other countries ..has created a national security issue.

The fear is you want home grown countries producting stuff so you can have reliable sources to make defense stuff and to build your countries infrastructure needs.

Illegal dumping makes your domestic steel companies or material suppliers ...go bankrupt (which we saw) ...or go close to bankrupt.

So, you have to have domestic suppliers healthy in the making of steel but also has a domestic supply of ....needed commodities..

http://www.amm.com/pdf/AMM%20Daily/Section232.pdf

on page 6 of 11 of this pdf..

“the US. Is reliant on imports of certain specialty materials such as chrome & nickel.” We don’t have sufficient domestic supplies of those, “ he said..”

Below is a link for companies that provided testimony

https://www.bis.doc.gov/232steel

 The main ones I paid attention to were Algoma, Cliffs and Arcelor

https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/documents/section-232-investigations/232-steel-public-comments/1729-algoma-public-comment/file

“In our case nearly all of the iron ore used in our steelmaking operation in Sault Ste. Marie is sourced from a mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula only 200 miles from our facility. Many of our customers are located in the Midwestern states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin where we can offer a logistical advantage given our strategic location at the hub of the Great Lakes. The integrated North American steel market also extends to defense materials as we know first-hand. We value our ability to serve as an important supplier of armor steel plate to the U.S. Armed Forces directly as well as American manufactures in the defense sector. Algoma is a member of the Canadian Steel Producers Association and we fully support the submission of Canada’s Steel Association. Algoma believes the steel trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. does not pose a threat to U.S. national security. Canada and the U.S. share common security and economic interests and a balanced steel trading relationship provides mutual benefit to both economies. As a result Algoma requests that Canada receive a full national exemption, excluding all Canadian steel products from any new measures including tariffs, quotas, tariff rate quotas or others implemented as a result of the Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Steel.”

https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/forms-documents/section-232-investigations/1696-9-arcelormittal-john-brett/file

https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/forms-documents/section-232-investigations/1703-16-cliffs-natural-resources-lourenco-goncalves/file