AKS AK Steel Holding Corp

AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) said that Roger K. Newport, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, testified today at the House Ways and Means Committee in support of the Administration’s Actions on Section 232.

AK Steel Chief Executive Officer Roger K. Newport testifies at the House Ways and Means Committee meeting in support of Section 232.

“We encourage Congress to support the actions of the Administration to ensure the steel Section 232 tariffs are effective, and that the U.S. maintains the ability to produce products critical to our national security interests, including the electrical infrastructure supply chain,” said Roger Newport.

At no time in our history have the challenges confronting the domestic steel industry because of unfair trade been more severe than the last three years when unfairly traded imports spiked to record highs threatening to impair our national security interests.  Nowhere is this more evident than for electrical steel, where due to unfair trade, AK Steel is now the only remaining domestic producer of electrical steel for transformers which are critical to the nation’s electric grid.  Recognizing the global reality domestic steel producers face and the inadequacies of the trade laws to address it, President Trump took the bold and necessary action of imposing tariffs on foreign steel as a result of the Department of Commerce’s 232 investigation.

During his testimony, Mr. Newport also noted that in order for the 232 remedy to be effective for electrical steel, it must apply to electrical steel as well as to downstream products like laminations, cores, core assemblies and transformers.  He also emphasized the importance of the Administration not losing sight of the President’s objective of restoring the domestic steel industry to at least 80 percent capacity utilization and making sure mechanisms are in place to combat attempts to circumvent the remedy and undermine its effectiveness.

AK Steel commends and supports the Administration for its efforts to stand up for American workers.  “We must fight back to make American manufacturing stronger—given how critical it is to our economy and ensuring Americans have jobs with family sustaining wages that contribute to the health of our local communities across this great country,” said Newport.

AK Steel AK Steel is a leading producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, primarily for the automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing, electrical power generation and distribution markets.  Through its subsidiaries, the company also provides customer solutions with carbon and stainless steel tubing products, die design and tooling, and hot- and cold-stamped components.  Headquartered in West Chester, Ohio (Greater Cincinnati), the company has approximately 9,200 employees at manufacturing operations across seven states (Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia), as well as in Canada and Mexico.  Additional information about AK Steel is available at www.aksteel.com. 

Forward Looking StatementsCertain statements made or incorporated by reference in this release reflect management’s estimates and beliefs and are intended to be “forward-looking statements” identified in the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates” and other similar references to future periods typically identify forward-looking statements. 

The company cautions readers that forward-looking statements reflect the company’s current beliefs and judgments, but are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes.  They are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that are inherently affected by economic, competitive, regulatory, and operational risks, uncertainties and contingencies that are beyond the company’s control, and upon assumptions about future business decisions and conditions that may change.

Forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve risks and uncertainties, resulting in the possibility that actual events or performance will differ materially from such predictions as a result of certain risk factors.  Such factors that could cause the company’s actual results and financial condition to differ materially from the results contemplated by such forward-looking statements include reduced selling prices, shipments and profits associated with a highly competitive and cyclical industry; domestic and global steel overcapacity; U.S. government actions on NAFTA and/or other trade agreements, treaties or policies; changes in the cost of raw materials, supplies and energy; the company’s significant amount of debt and other obligations; severe financial hardship or bankruptcy of one or more of the company’s major customers or key suppliers; the company’s significant proportion of sales to the automotive market; reduced demand in key product markets due to competition from aluminum or other alternatives to steel; excess inventory of raw materials; supply chain disruptions or poor quality of raw materials or supplies; production disruption or reduced production levels; the company’s healthcare and pension obligations; not reaching new labor agreements on a timely basis; major litigation, arbitrations, environmental issues and other contingencies; regulatory compliance and changes; climate change and greenhouse gas emissions; conditions in the financial, credit, capital and banking markets; the company’s use of derivative contracts to hedge commodity pricing volatility; potential permanent idling of facilities; inability to fully realize benefits of margin enhancement initiatives; information technology security threats, cybercrime and exposure of private information; that the company will not achieve the expected benefits of the acquisition of PPHC Holdings, LLC (Precision Partners) and/or integrate Precision Partners successfully; changes in tax laws and regulations; as well as those risks and uncertainties discussed in more detail in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, as updated in subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.  As such, the company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only to the company’s plans, assumptions and expectations as of the date hereof.  The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

Contacts:  Media – Lisa H. Jester, Corporate Manager, Communications and Public Relations (513) 425-2510Investors – Douglas O. Mitterholzer, General Manager, Investor Relations (513) 425-5215

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/634f061a-e505-4751-80d2-1470c341f5c6