Cleveland-Cliffs Surges 1.63% as 232 Tariffs Broaden Volume Ranks 488th

On August 18, 2025, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) closed with a 1.63% gain, trading at a volume of $0.19 billion, ranking 488th in market activity. The stock’s performance coincided with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s expansion of Section 232 steel tariffs to cover electrical steel laminations, cores, and certain stainless steel automotive exhaust parts. Effective immediately, these derivative products will face a 50% tariff rate, a move the company described as critical to curbing tariff circumvention via imports from Mexico and Canada. Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves emphasized the action reinforces the domestic steel industry’s competitiveness, enabling continued investments in its Ohio and Pennsylvania facilities that support U.S.-made vehicles, appliances, and transformers.

The decision aligns with the company’s long-standing advocacy against circumvention schemes, particularly those involving steel melted outside North America and repackaged as derivative products. Goncalves noted that such practices, previously tacitly supported by Canada and Mexico, have undermined the USMCA trade agreement’s original intent. By expanding tariff coverage, the U.S. government has provided Cleveland-Cliffs with regulatory clarity to safeguard its domestic market share. The company reiterated its commitment to vertically integrated operations, spanning iron ore mining to finished steel products, positioning it as a key supplier for the automotive sector amid ongoing trade policy shifts.

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