Enhanced Cooperation between Nippon Steel and Ispat Group in North America

Nippon Steel Corporation(President : Akio Mimura， ”NSC”)， Ispat International N. V. (”IINV” in the Netherlands) and Ispat Inland Inc. (”III” in the USA) (collectively ”the Parties”) have agreed to cooperate further to enhance the efficiency of their respective operations， mainly in automotive applications in North America based on their joint venture operations， I/N Tek and I/N Kote， their core business in this field in North America.

The Parties have jointly established I/N Tek and I/N Kote based on NSC’s technology， and have supplied high quality steel sheets mainly to Japanese transplant automotive manufacturers in North America. Under the growing need for improved environmental and safety performance， automotive customers’ requirements for quality products are becoming higher and more stringent. Thanks to the superior technology of NSC and good， stable， long term relationships between customers and the Parties established and held through I/N ventures， the Parties are continuing to develop and supply higher quality products even more consistently.

NSC has agreed not only to continue strengthening its technical cooperation with III， I/N Tek and I/N Kote in improving quality and equipment， but also to provide new product technology， including high tensile strength steel products， and the Parties have signed a framework agreement to facilitate such activities.

With this agreement， NSC， with both its own products and those from its alliance partner in Europe， Arcelor， is setting out to establish a global supply system for high quality automotive steel sheets.