DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-96,049

AK COAL RESOURCES, INC.

AK STEEL DIVISION

A SUBSIDIARY OF AK STEEL CORPORATION

FRIEDENS, PENNSYLVANIA

Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility

To Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance

In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended ("Act"), 19 U.S.C. § 2273, the Department of Labor herein
presents the results of an investigation regarding certification
of eligibility to apply for worker adjustment assistance.

Workers of a firm may be eligible for worker adjustment
assistance if they satisfy the criteria of subsection (a), (b) or
(e) of Section 222 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), (b) and (e).
For the Department of Labor to issue a certification for workers
under Section 222(a) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), the following
criteria must be met:

(1) The first criterion (set forth in Section 222(a)(1) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a)(1)) requires that a significant
number or proportion of the workers in the workers' firm must
have become totally or partially separated or be threatened
with total or partial separation.

(2) The second criterion (set forth in Section 222(a)(2) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a)(2)) may be satisfied in one of two
ways:

(A) Increased Imports Path:

(i) sales or production, or both, at the workers' firm must
have decreased absolutely; AND

(ii) (I) imports of articles or services like or directly
competitive with articles or services produced or
supplied by the workers' firm have increased, OR

(II)(aa) imports of articles like or directly
competitive with articles into which the component
part produced by the workers' firm was directly
incorporated have increased; OR

(II)(bb) imports of articles like or directly
competitive with articles which are produced
directly using the services supplied by the
workers' firm have increased; OR

(III) imports of articles directly incorporating
component parts not produced in the U.S. that are
like or directly competitive with the article into
which the component part produced by the workers'
firm was directly incorporated have increased; AND

(iii) the increase in imports described in clause (ii)
contributed importantly to such workers' separation or
threat of separation and to the decline in the sales
or production of such firm.

(B) Shift in Production or Supply Path:

(i)(I) there has been a shift by the workers' firm to a
foreign country in the production of articles or supply
of services like or directly competitive with those
produced/supplied by the workers' firm; OR

(II) there has been an acquisition from a foreign
country by the workers' firm of articles/services that
are like or directly competitive with those
produced/supplied by the workers' firm; and

(ii) the shift described in clause (i)(I) or the acquisition
of articles or services described in clause (i)(II)
contributed importantly to such workers' separation or
threat of separation.

For the Department to issue a secondary worker certification
under Section 222(b) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(b), to workers
of a Supplier or a Downstream Producer, the following criteria
must be met:

(1) a significant number or proportion of the workers in the
workers' firm or an appropriate subdivision of the firm
have become totally or partially separated, or are
threatened to become totally or partially separated;

(2) the workers' firm is a Supplier or Downstream Producer
to a firm that employed a group of workers who received
a certification of eligibility under Section 222(a) of
the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), and such supply or
production is related to the article or service that was
the basis for such certification; and

(3) either

(A) the workers' firm is a supplier and the component
parts it supplied to the firm described in paragraph (2)
accounted for at least 20 percent of the production or
sales of the workers' firm;
or

(B) a loss of business by the workers' firm with the
firm described in paragraph (2) contributed importantly
to the workers' separation or threat of separation.

Section 222(c) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(c), defines the
terms "Supplier" and "Downstream Producer."

Workers of a firm may also be considered eligible if they
are publicly identified by name by the International Trade
Commission as a member of a domestic industry in an investigation
resulting in a category of determination that is listed in
Section 222(e) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(e).

The group eligibility requirements for workers of a firm under
Section 222(e) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(e), can be satisfied
if the following criteria are met:

(1) the workers' firm is publicly identified by name by the
International Trade Commission as a member of a domestic
industry in an investigation resulting in--

(A) an affirmative determination of serious injury or
threat thereof under section 202(b)(1);

(B) an affirmative determination of market disruption
or threat thereof under section 421(b)(1); or

(C) an affirmative final determination of material
injury or threat thereof under section 705(b)(1)(A)
or 735(b)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1671d(b)(1)(A) and 1673d(b)(1)(A));

(2)the petition is filed during the 1-year period beginningon the date on which--

(A)a summary of the report submitted to the Presidentby the International Trade Commission under section202(f)(1) with respect to the affirmativedetermination described in paragraph (1)(A) ispublished in the Federal Register under section202(f)(3); or

(B)notice of an affirmative determination described insubparagraph (1) is published in the FederalRegister; and

(3)the workers have become totally or partially
separated from the workers' firm within--

(A)the 1-year period described in paragraph (2); or

(B)notwithstanding section 223(b), the 1-year
period preceding the 1-year period described in
paragraph (2).


The investigation was initiated in response to a petition
filed on July 10, 2020, by a State Workforce Office on behalf of
workers of AK Coal Resources, Inc., AK Steel division, a subsidiary
of AK Steel Corporation, Friedens, Pennsylvania.
The workers' firm is engaged in activities related to the
production of metallurgical coal.
The petitioner alleged, "Cleveland-Cliffs has publicly stated
its internal need for metallurgical coal required for steelmaking
has decreased. Coal from the Friedens mine was provided to the AK
Steel location in Butler, PA which is the only U.S. producer of
grain-oriented steel used in electrical transformers. In May the
US Commerce Department announced it will investigate whether
imports of foreign electrical transformer parts threaten national
security by circumventing tariffs meant to protect domestic
steelmakers."

During the course of the investigation, information was
collected from the petitioner, the workers' firm, and the U.S.
Energy Information Administration.

With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that metallurgical coal did not increase.
The workers' firm did not report imports of metallurgical coal
or like or directly competitive articles from 2018 to June 2020.
The workers' firm did not report imports of metallurgical coal.
Additionally, while U.S. imports of coals was decreasing
production was decreasing as well. All in all, reliance on
imports were de minimis to production.

With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(B) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that the firm did not shift the production
of metallurgical coal or a like or directly competitive article
to a foreign country or acquire metallurgical coal or a like or
directly competitive article from a foreign country.

With respect to Section 222(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that AK Coal Resources is not a Supplier
to a firm that employed a group of workers who received a
certification of eligibility under Section 222(a) of the Act, 19
U.S.C. § 2272(a).

With respect to Section 222(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that AK Coal Resources does not act as a
Downstream Producer to a firm that employed a group of workers
who received a certification of eligibility under Section 222(a)
of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a).

Finally, the group eligibility requirements under Section
222(e) of the Act, have not been satisfied either because Criterion
(1)has not been met since the workers' firm has not been publiclyidentified by name by the International Trade Commission as a
member of a domestic industry in an investigation resulting in an
affirmative finding of serious injury, market disruption, or
material injury, or threat thereof.

Conclusion

After careful review of the facts obtained in the
investigation, I determine that the requirements of Section 222 of
the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272, have not been met and, therefore, deny
the petition for group eligibility of workers of AK Coal Resources,
Inc., AK Steel division, a subsidiary of AK Steel Corporation,
Friedens, Pennsylvania, engaged in activities related to the
production of metallurgical coal, to apply for adjustment
assistance, in accordance with Section 223 of the Act, 19 U.S.C.
§2273.

Signed in Washington, D.C. this 12th day of February, 2021


/s/ Hope D. Kinglock
_______________________
HOPE D. KINGLOCK

Certifying Officer, Office of

Trade Adjustment Assistance