(Photo from Mississippi Silicon website)
- The U.S. International Trade Commission is seeking to determine whether Angola, Australia, Laos, Norway, and Thailand imports are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
A Mississippi-based company is one of the entities behind the U.S. International Trade Commission’s investigation into the import of silicon metal from Angola, Australia, Laos, Norway, and Thailand.
Mississippi Silicon LLC, based in Burnsville, along with Ferroglobe USA, Inc. in Beverly, Ohio, filed a petition on April 24 seeking the investigation using the Tariff Act of 1930 as a backdrop, focusing on potential material injury to U.S. industries.
The claim is that the imports are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value and that they are being subsidized by their governments.
Silicon metal is used in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, chemical, semiconductor and solar industries.
The Commission’s investigation seeks to determine “whether there is a reasonable indication
that an industry in the United States is materially injured or threatened with material injury, or the establishment of an industry in the United States is materially retarded, by reason of
imports of silicon metal from Angola, Australia, Laos, and Norway.”
According to the company, Mississippi Silicon is the first domestic manufacturer of raw silicon metal built in the past 40 years and produces approximately 10 percent of all silicon metal used in the United States.
“In that time, similar plants have been built all around the world,” the company states on its website. “We have made great progress since our launch in late 2015, and our facility directly competes with facilities in Europe, South Africa, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and Brazil. We sell our silicon metal to customers that supply thousands of consumer, industrial and commercial markets in North America and around the world.”
The company invested over $200 million in its 174,000-square-foot Burnsville production facility a decade ago and created roughly 200 jobs in the Tishomingo County area.
Mississippi Silicon says it has been able to leverage its low-cost electricity, proximity to competitively priced raw materials, and advanced-process automation to become one of the lowest cost producers of silicon metal in both North America and the world.
What the Commission decides following the investigation could have a significant impact on Mississippi Silicon’s production and employment.
Unless the Department of Commerce extends the time for initiation, the Commission must reach a preliminary determination in 45 days, or in this case by June 9, 2025. The Commission’s views must then be transmitted to the Commerce Department within five business days, or June 16, 2025.
The public is invited to offer comments through written statements and attend a staff conference in connection with the preliminary phase of the investigations beginning at 9:30 a.m. on May 15, 2025. For more information, the public is encouraged to contact the Office of Investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Frank Corder
