Multinational steel company hit with severe penalties for dangerous conduct: 'We didn't initially expect it to be so huge'
ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based multinational steel company, was indicted in connection with industrial pollution by prosecutors in Marseille, France. Now, ArcelorMittal faces judicial supervision with a hefty price tag for enforcement, per the Luxembourg Times.
ArcelorMittal was accused of endangering others, forgery, and causing environmental damage in the Fos-sur-Mer region of France.
ArcelorMittal was sued in 2018 by the environmental nonprofit Association for the Defense and Protection of the Gulf of Fos Coastline (ADPLGF), around 250 local residents, organizations, and unions. The group accused the steelmaker of exposing people to "illegal discharges" of pollution, according to the Luxembourg Times.
"Arcelor hid information and falsified documents. In addition to CO2, their emissions contained benzene, fine particles, lead and cadmium - all classified as carcinogens and mutagens - as well as toxic agents such as nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide," ADPLGF president Daniel Moutet told the Luxembourg Times.
The steelmaker is now under court supervision, subject to a 250,000 euro deposit and 1.75 million euro bank guarantee.
The company "firmly contests the accusations" but will cooperate with authorities, according to Reuters.
ArcelorMittal further told Reuters that it did "everything possible to ensure that emissions from the Fos-sur-Mer site comply with the prescribed annual limit values."
"There has been no falsification of data," ArcelorMittal said.
Pollution from big companies can create major health risks to the locals who work and live near their operations.
ADPLGF president Daniel Moutet claimed that there are "three times as many" cases of cancer in the Fos-sur-Mer region compared to elsewhere. He told the Luxembourg Times that he lost "a lot of friends to cancer over the years."
Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home?
Yes — always
Yes — often
Yes — sometimes
No — never
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
It's important that companies are held accountable for polluting the air with toxic chemicals, which not only lowers the quality of life for nearby residents but also contributes to the amount of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.
Companies across the world are facing consequences for failing to meet their environmental goals to reduce pollution.
The complainants in the case against ArcelorMittal were happy with the Marseille prosecutors' indictment of the steelmaker.
"We didn't initially expect it to be so huge. I'm satisfied that the courts have done their job and got to the bottom of it," said Moutet to the Luxembourg Times.
Since 2014, ArcelorMittal claims to have "invested more than 735 million euros, notably to modernize its facilities or innovate to reduce emission levels, whose regulatory thresholds are increasingly stringent." However, the courts have apparently decided it's not doing enough.
Therefore, it's important to educate yourself on corporate greenwashing so that you don't give your hard-earned cash to companies with deceptive sustainability practices.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Immigration raid against California farmworkers found to reduce school attendance
An increase in recent immigration enforcement in California's Central Valley appears to have caused a drop in school attendance, a Stanford University researcher has found. After a January immigration raid that targeted Kern County farmworkers, local school districts saw a 22% increase in daily student absences compared with the monthly pattern within the past two years, Stanford education professor Thomas Dee wrote in a newly published paper. The Jan. 7 to 9 raid, called Operation Return to Sender, was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's El Centro sector days before President Donald Trump's inauguration. The first major workplace immigration raid in California since Trump's presidential election victory, it resulted in at least 78 arrests, according to the El Centro sector of the U.S. Border Patrol. Border patrol agents said they were carrying out 'a 'targeted enforcement' action focused on those with criminal histories but United Farm Workers, a California-based union, said many people arrested had no criminal records, including a lawful permanent resident who was only released when she showed the agent a picture of her green card. A U.S. district judge later barred U.S. Border Patrol agents from using practices deployed in that raid. The ruling, part of a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of farmworkers, stated border patrol agents in the raid 'more likely than not' stopped and detained people without reasonable suspicion to do so. The raid almost immediately fueled widespread fear among undocumented immigrant families, who said they were afraid to send their kids to school or leave home in case they were arrested. Since then, ICE expanded enforcement activity in Southern California's agricultural regions, including Tulare, Fresno and Ventura counties, the Los Angeles Times reported, as part of Trump's campaign promise for mass deportations of the country's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. The Stanford paper is the first research published about whether the Bakersfield raid impacted school attendance. Using three years of daily data on student absences in five Central Valley school districts where the raids took place, Dee measured whether student absences in January and February, after the raid occurred, differed from what would be expected based on seasonal trends in previous years. He also accounted for events and holidays that would have impacted attendance for other reasons, such as the first Monday in February, which was an annual public holiday in Mexico celebrating Constitution Day, and the Feb. 3 Day Without Immigrants protest, which saw at least 700 Kern County high schoolers walking out of class to protest Trump's policies. The results indicated a sharp increase of more than 20% in student absences in January and February, with absenteeism increasing particularly among younger students. 'Using unique data from school districts in California's Central Valley, this study presents leading evidence that the recent surge in interior immigration enforcement significantly increased student absences from school,' the report stated. 'The increased absences can also be understood as a leading indicator of broad and developmentally harmful stress these raids create for students and their families.' The harm to student learning is substantial, Dee said, compounding the post-pandemic spike in chronic absenteeism, making it hard for teachers to pace instruction when some students miss school, and potentially causing anxiety disorders in children and compromising long-term academic success. California is one of the few states that base state funding for schools on average daily attendance. Dee said that the raid-induced increases in absences will reduce state funds available to affected districts. Michele Copher, superintendent of schools in Fresno County, which has been impacted by immigration raids against farmworkers, said that in the late winter, Fresno County school districts reported a drop in attendance that coincided with reported Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the area. 'Attendance has since stabilized, and districts have worked hard to help families feel confident sending their children to school,' Copher said.
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Interest in ‘elbows up' merchandise waning ahead of Canada Day, businesses say
When Rachael Coe decided to launch an 'elbows up' merchandise line at her store in Yarmouth, N.S., in March, she said it was an immediate bestseller. Within a week, Coe said her Timeless Memories shop had already made 400 sales. By the end of the first month, she had sold 2,500 products ranging from T-shirts to hoodies to car decals. Demand for items bearing Canada's rallying cry against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and annexation threats was so high that Coe launched a website to keep up with the surge. 'It was a response from all over Canada,' she said. 'We reached every single province then we started covering worldwide. Our 'elbows up' merch went everywhere.' Many Canadian businesses hopped on the patriotic trend that also saw Ontario Premier Doug Ford wearing a 'Canada is not for sale' ball cap ahead of a January meeting with Canada's premiers and prime minister. But Coe's sales started slowing down by May. And despite a slight boost ahead of Canada Day, she said the 'elbows up' line is now selling at similar rates to the classic red-and-white merchandise she sells every year around this time. Although business owners say they are selling more Canada-themed products this year leading up to July 1, many have also noted a decline in 'elbows up' merchandise sales. The rallying cry, initially embraced as a grassroots movement at the height of cross-border trade tensions and Trump's musings about making Canada the 51st state, has shifted to a more generic expression of Canadian pride amid continued tensions, retailers and experts say. Others note that the phrase 'elbows up' has increasingly been used in a partisan context, contributing to the marketing shift. Stephanie Tomlin, Toronto-based owner of the online business Shop Love Collective, said she saw an explosion in 'elbows up' merchandise sales in March, selling as many as 10 or 15 products per day. Similarly, her sales began to stagnate in May. Leading up to Canada Day, she said she's selling 'quite a bit more' merchandise compared with previous years, but that's due to interest in Canada-themed products across the board. 'I think the climate in Canada is a little bit more settled after the election and that … we feel like we will never be the 51st state,' Tomlin said, adding that Canadian patriotism is becoming less combative as annexation talks have died down. Howard Ramos, a professor of sociology at Western University, said 'elbows up' became 'more partisan than it used to be' when Prime Minister Mark Carney embraced the phrase in his election campaign ads in late March. 'It's just added to how the expression is dying down as a pan-Canadian claim,' he said. 'Now you see on social media, especially from Conservative handles, the use of 'elbows up' in a sarcastic way to criticize Mark Carney or Liberal policies.' Negative online comments about the 'elbows up' movement have discouraged Coe from promoting her products on Facebook. But when she's interacting with customers in her Yarmouth shop, she said the phrase isn't as divisive. 'It's not a political term, and it simply means that you're defending your country, and everyone should be defending our country, just like you would defend (against) a goal in hockey,' Coe said. Danielle McDonagh, owner of Vernon, B.C.-based Rowantree Clothing, said she stopped promoting her 'elbows up' merchandise on a large scale when she noticed the phrase being interpreted as an 'anti-Conservative' and 'boomer' movement. For McDonagh, increased concern about the political climate in the United States has also chipped away at the lightheartedness of the 'elbows up' movement. 'I think some of the levity is gone for me,' she said. While sales of her 'elbows up' products have dropped by about 90 per cent since hitting 1,000 in the first month, she said she continues to promote the merchandise in small batches at local markets in Vernon. Business owners say their customers continue to prioritize supporting the Canadian economy, as they are routinely answering questions about where their products are manufactured. And the push to buy Canadian isn't just coming from this side of the border. Coe said many American tourists arriving by ferry from Maine visit her shop in search of Canadian merchandise. '(Tourists) want to support us just as much as Canadians want to support us,' Coe said. McDonagh said her business sees similar interest from Americans. 'I'm shipping a lot of Canada-centric merchandise to the States, which I just love,' McDonagh said. 'People chat with me on my site and say … we're supporting you.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
The businesses that are, and aren't, shifting production under Trump's tariffs
New York-based manufacturer Gear Motions purchases the majority of its parts from U.S. suppliers, with roughly 4% of inputs imported from other countries. It's a small fraction, but with a 10% base tariff in effect since early April, President and CEO Dean Burrows said his company, which specializes in custom cut and ground gears, will have to pass down those price increases to customers. That's not for lack of trying to find new suppliers. 'We have not been able to find a U.S. source that can make the product, and we have searched globally,' Burrows said. Tariffs are meant to fix that, with the Trump administration aiming to 'reverse the decades of globalization that has decimated our industrial base,' according to an April White House press release. But reviving the U.S. manufacturing base would take years, and economists have doubts that President Donald Trump's tariffs will be enough to bring it back to its former glory. Meanwhile, many U.S. manufacturers that rely on imports may be more likely to pass on tariff costs to consumers than reshore their supply chains. Nearly one-third of U.S. manufacturers' intermediate inputs are imported from other countries, according to a 2022 report from the Commerce Department. 'In the short run, it's going to hurt manufacturers. It's going to hurt the factory owners. It's going to hurt the workers,' said Nancy Qian, an economics professor at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. 'And that's on top of the pain the workers will feel when they go to the store and need to pay more for their imported (items).' Why shifting to US suppliers isn't always an easy solution Trump's tariffs are meant to position the U.S. as a 'global superpower in manufacturing' by drawing in new factories and manufacturing investments. 'The president has said early and often that the best way to avoid tariffs is to just come here and produce," Trump's top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, told CNBC in early April. 'We're going to get to a place where America makes stuff again.' But moving supply chains to the U.S. can be costly. Nearly two-thirds of 380 surveyed companies say building a new domestic supply chain would at least double their current costs, according to an April CNBC survey. Sixty-one percent said it would be more cost-effective to relocate to a lower-tariffed country. 'If the U.S. continues its focus on China, it will be successful in moving production out of China to some extent, but it won't move so much of it back to the U.S.,' Qian said. 'There are many other countries out there that can manufacture at costs lower than the U.S.' Even if tariffs boost U.S. manufacturing, it'll take years for new factories to get up and running. That could leave U.S. companies searching for domestic suppliers struggling in the meantime. Take 000Skin, a beauty company launched by Hannah Chang earlier this year. While 000Skin is based in New York, Chang has been sourcing the containers for her skin care products in China, where she says manufacturing capabilities are unmatched. 'I think people are not aware how much work and infrastructure even creating a plastic jar takes,' Chang said. But rising import costs from tariffs have thrown her for a loop. Chang has looked for alternative suppliers in the U.S., but says she has yet to find options that match the quality and price of what Chinese manufacturers can supply. She's considered shifting to a Mexican producer, but said it's been difficult finding one willing to work with smaller businesses. 'I'll probably just continue to look at China-based partners,' Chang said, adding that she's considering raising prices to cover at least some of the 30% tariff rate. Courtney Rivenbark looked into working with U.S. manufacturers when she created her apparel and jewelry brand, Coco Clem, in 2018. The high production costs turned her away, and she eventually pivoted to a partnership with a Chinese factory she said aligned with her ethical and environmental goals. 'China is just very advanced with their machines and equipment and technology,' Rivenbark said. 'The whole supply chain exists in China – the knits, the yard, the GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton yarn.' After Trump announced new tariffs earlier this year, Rivenbark said she compared pricing from China with U.S. manufacturers. She said it would cost her three times more to create the same sweater in the U.S., and local manufacturers didn't have the technology to create certain garments in plus sizes. 'I would move (production to the U.S.) if the infrastructure was here,' Rivenbark said. But 'it's just so much more expensive. ... I'm not really interested in moving it outside of China because of a potential short-term policy switch.' How many factories, jobs are coming to the US? That's not to say tariffs aren't pressuring some businesses to increase their investments in the U.S. Whether those moves will lead to a dramatic influx of manufacturing jobs is another question. Cra-Z-Art – a New Jersey-based manufacturer that produces toys, activities and school supplies – in March announced plans to grow production space by 50% to 1.5 million square feet to combat the cost of tariffs. Lawrence Rosen, chairman of Cra-Z-Art, said it's too early to say how many jobs the move will create, but the company is looking to use automation 'wherever possible' to reduce direct labor costs. 'I need to control my 102-year-old company's destiny by controlling its future and not relying on global tariffs when things could change daily,' Lawrence said. 'By manufacturing in the USA, we save on freight, we save with automation. ... With automation, we can produce many of our products at a similar cost compared to increased costs with even 10% tariffs on freight.' A White House website claims Trump's policies have spurred trillions of dollars in new U.S. manufacturing investments that are 'fueling job growth, innovation, and opportunity across every corner of the country.' A number of those investments were in the works before Trump took office. A $5 billion investment from automaker Stellantis, for instance, includes plans to restart an idled plant in Belvidere, Illinois, to make trucks, a deal first announced in 2023. While there were talks of delays in 2024, the company in January confirmed that it would stick to the 2027 opening agreed to in union negotiations years prior. And a spokesperson for German medical technology company Siemens Healthineers, another company listed on the website, told USA TODAY that several of the initiatives included in its $150 million investment in new and expanded U.S. facilities have been underway for 'well over a year," although projects were accelerated to address rising economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, doesn't expect to see much reshoring tied to tariffs. 'For a business to set up a factory in the United States, that's a 10-year investment or longer,' Strain said. 'How can a business possibly know whether or not that would be profitable if tariff rates are changing every week?" Some data suggests the domestic manufacturing industry has actually taken a hit from tariffs, with trade policy uncertainty prompting some companies to tighten their purse strings. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in May for the third consecutive month to reach its lowest level since November, with both orders and output contracting, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management. Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector lost about 8,000 jobs between April and May despite an overall increase in employment, according to the Labor Department. Susan Helper, an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio who served on the White House staff in both the Obama and Biden Administrations, believes tariffs can be a useful tool, but the uncertainty surrounding trade policy has been 'a real problem.' "I think what companies are doing is just not investing anywhere in anything and just waiting to see how things shake out,' she said.
