It’s hoped that a partnership of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., and steelmaker POSCO, will help laid-off Iron Range steelworkers and the taconite plants where they have worked.
But nobody knows for sure yet.
Cleveland-Cliffs on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership with South Korean steelmaker POSCO.
Both companies say the partnership will help them in the United States.
“Our partnership with POSCO represents a meeting of two industrial champions at a pivotal time for global manufacturing,” Celso Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ executive vice president and chief financial officer said in a news release. “We have long admired POSCO from afar and look forward to partnering with them as we take the next major transformative step for Cleveland-Cliffs. We are aligned in our vision for a stronger, self-reliant, and mutually beneficial industrial base across both nations. We look forward to welcoming POSCO to the Cleveland-Cliffs family and leveraging the combined resources and strengths of both companies.”
The announcement comes days after Cleveland-Cliffs said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a unidentified foreign steelmaker.
It turned out to be POSCO.
The partnership would allow POSCO to support and grow its established U.S. customer base while ensuring its products meets U.S. trade and origin requirements, according to the Cleveland-Cliffs news release.
It would also create an opportunity for POSCO to invest in the United States, according to POSCO officials.
“We are delighted to enter into this important partnership with Cleveland-Cliffs, the premier steel company in America,” Jutae Lee, president of POSCO Holdings said. “This collaboration represents a meaningful step for POSCO to make a major investment in the United States and leverage all of Cliffs current capabilities. We look forward to supplying our current customers American-made steel through this partnership and maintaining the trusted relationships we have established in the United States.”
No other details on the partnership or what type of investments might be made in Cliffs’ facilities by POSCO were made public.
A formal announcement on a definitive agreement is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025 or first quarter of 2026.
A closing is expected in 2026, according to the Cleveland-Cliffs news release.
How the partnership might affect Cleveland-Cliffs’ taconite operations and employees in northeastern Minnesota isn’t clear.
Cliffs’ Minorca Mine near Virginia remains on indefinite idle.
Hibbing Taconite Co., near Hibbing and Chisholm is on partial idle, operating one of three pellet production lines and running out of crude ore.
Between the two taconite plants, about 600 employees are laid-off.
United Steelworker (USW) leaders on the Iron Range say they hope the partnership could lead to more stability at Cliffs’ taconite operations.
“This partnership between POSCO and Cliffs will definitely help increase steel demand and production,” Al King, USW Local 6115 president at Minorca Mine said. “Cliffs has the capacity to produce more steel and should be able to leverage this partnership to bring us closer, if not over to full capacity production, which will in turn help the Iron Range ramp up production of iron ore to meet that demand.”
Chris Johnson, USW Local 2705 president at Hibbing Taconite, says he has some straightforward hopes from the partnership.
“I hope besides money, they bring mine life for Hibbing Tac,” Johnson said.
John Arbogast, USW District 11 staff representative, said he’s hopeful the partnership will lead to union members returning to work.
“I hope the partnership leads to a recall of the roughly 600 USW members sitting on the street right now with not a lot of hope of returning to work anytime soon,” Arbogast said.
David McCall, USW International president, said the union is hopeful that the partnership will strengthen Cleveland-Cliffs and secure union member jobs.
“We were made aware of the MOU and are encouraged that the partnership will strengthen the company and the long term security of our members at Cleveland-Cliffs,” McCall said in a statement.
In northeastern Minnesota, Cleveland-Cliffs also owns and operates Northshore Mining Co. in Babbitt and Silver Bay and United Taconite in Eveleth and Forbes.
In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Cliffs owns and operates the Tilden Mine.
A Memorandum of Understanding on the POSCO partnership was signed Sept. 17, according to Cleveland-Cliffs.
The collaboration is a model of how allies can deepen industrial cooperation under fair and transparent trade principles, aligning with U.S. policy goals to strengthen domestic industry and attract foreign investment, according to Cleveland-Cliffs.
President Donald Trump had implemented 50 percent tariffs on steel coming into the United States.
In a deal announced Thursday, tariffs on South Korean automobile and auto parts will be reduced to a reciprocal 15 percent.
At the same time, South Korea said it would invest $350 billion into the United States.
Among the investments would be a U.S.-based, vertically integrated rare earth separation, refining and magnet production complex focused on high-value mobility magnets, according to the White House.
In its Oct. 20 third quarter earnings, Cleveland-Cliffs said geological studies have shown key indicators of rare earth mineralization at two of its taconite operations, one in Minnesota and one in Michigan.
POSCO is Korea’s largest steelmaker and the third-largest in the world.
It’s the second partnership announced in recent months between a large domestic and foreign-based steelmaker.
The Cliffs/POSCO announcement comes about four months after United States Steel Corp. and Nippon Steel Corp. finalized a partnership.
Nippon Steel said it would invest $800 million into United States Steel’s Minnesota Ore Operations facilities at Minntac Mine in Mountain Iron and Keetac in Keewatin.
No details on that proposed investment has yet been made public.
Nippon Steel is Japan’s largest steelmaker.