Commissioner Jason E. Kearns of the U.S. International Trade Commission (pictured above, fifth from right) and his staff members visited the Gerdau steel mill in Petersburg, Virginia, on a fact-finding mission Tuesday. The commission is compiling a report on carbon emissions from steelmaking in America at the request of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

Gerdau is a member of the Steel Manufacturers Association. Like other SMA member mills, the Gerdau Petersburg mill makes steel by melting ferrous scrap in an electric arc furnace, or EAF. The EAF method produces far fewer emissions than coal-intensive blast furnaces.

“We were pleased to help coordinate visits in recent weeks by the ITC to steel mills operated by SMA members, including Gerdau, Steel Dynamics, and Nucor,” SMA President Philip K. Bell said. “We support the investigation that the commission and Ambassador Tai are undertaking, because we know that good trade policy requires good data on carbon emissions. We also know that domestic EAF steel mills make the cleanest steel in the world, and the report will bear that out.”

The visit to Gerdau’s Petersburg mill, like earlier ITC visits to the Steel Dynamics mill in Butler, Indiana, and the Nucor mill in Crawfordsville, Indiana, included briefings from mill management on technology and safety, a tour of the facility, and a question-and-answer session with mill technical staff.

Eric Stuart, vice president in charge of sustainability and environment for SMA, North America’s largest steel trade association, took part in the visits to Gerdau and Steel Dynamics.

The ITC report to Ambassador Tai is due in January 2025.