Iron ore miner Cliffs Natural Resources is a lone voice from the American steel industry in commending President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, despite urgings from Administration officials to others in the sector that they write letters to the editors of major newspapers in support of the move.
"In this case, on this issue, and given the volatility swirling around it and even within the White House, it's time to be careful about any cheerleading," a source close to the matter said Friday.
Major steel producers like Nucor, US Steel and AK Steel did not issue any statements.
But Lourenco Goncalves, president and CEO of Cliffs, has never been shy about speaking his mind.
"The Paris climate accord is a bad deal for America in its current form," Goncalves said in a statement late Thursday.
"The American iron and steel industry is the most environmentally compliant among the major industrial nations. We exclusively use iron ore pellets in our blast furnaces, while China relies on highly polluting sinter feed iron ore fines from Australia and Brazil to over produce steel, flood the steel markets and weaken the US steel industry. We believe that being pro-environment, pro-industry and pro-business are not contradictory goals," he added.
The issue is one Goncalves is passionate about, and he told S&P Global Platts Friday he stood by his statement.
"When [Goncalves] saw the backlash the president was receiving in making this decision, he decided to step up, step forward in support," a person close to Goncalves explained.
Usually, the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute, in which Cliffs is a member, fulfills its role as "the voice of the North American steel industry" by reacting almost immediately to such policy decisions. But not this time.
Nonetheless, AISI has stated before that it was not in favor of the Paris accord. One source speculated the group's silence may have been simply a matter of "not wanting to crow about the ultimate decision."
Steel labor, on the other hand, was vocal.
"President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement is an inexcusable blow to the US economy," said United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard in a statement. "The agreement is ambitious, nonbinding and transparent, and it stands as a landmark global achievement in the fight against climate change."
