US-based Steel Development Company and China's Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation (Ansteel) have signed a controversial investment operating agreement.
Ansteel has taken a 14% stake of Steel Development Company's proposed $175M Amory Rebar project in Mississipi, USA.
The rebar mill will produce 330kt/y, a fraction of total output in the USA, but lawmakers said it could hurt local jobs and also have implications for national security.
The deal was signed along with partners from the USA, Italy, Japan, Germany and Canada.
It also includes a plan to build five other mills, four of which will be to produce reinforcing bar and other bar products used in infrastructure while the other will produce electrical and silicon grades of steel used in energy applications.