Allegheny Technologies to close Beaver County steel plant, citing Trump's tariffs

Allegheny Technologies Inc. will shutter its Beaver County stainless steel plant in June, citing the Trump administration’s steel tariffs as the reason for the closure, the company announced Tuesday.

The A&T Stainless Direct Roll Anneal and Pickle operation in Midland employs about 70 workers, most of whom are represented by United Steelworkers.

A&T Stainless is co-owned by ATI and the China-based Tsingshan Group.

“The unfortunate impact on these hardworking employees is an unintended consequence of the blunt nature of tariffs,” ATI President Robert S. Wetherbee said in a statement. “We have no viable alternative to imports, yet have suffered unsustainable losses under this economic policy.”

The plant imports stainless steel slabs from Indonesia, turning them into stainless steel sheets.

It has paid $37 million in tariffs in the last two years, since the Trump administration levied a 25% tariff on imported steel products, according to the company.

ATI’s share of A&T lost the company about $19.3 million in 2019, according to the company’s announcement of the closure.

ATI lobbied federal officials for an exclusion to the tariff, to no avail. The company’s first application was denied; it has not received a response to its second.

“While we firmly believe we meet the criteria for an exclusion, we cannot wait any longer,” Wetherbee’s statement said.

The Midland plant was closed in 2016 because of competition in the international steel industry. It reopened in 2018.

It could open once again if the tariff policies were “substantially changed,” according to ATI.