Bloomberg: Nucor imported 18 shipments of pig iron over three years from Brazilian suppliers linked to investigations into slave labor

Bloomberg reported that the findings are based on nonpublic inspection reports and U.S. customs data. According to these data, Nucor received at least 18 shipments of pig iron from six Brazilian suppliers, and some of them were still shipping metal to the company as recently as April.

Authorities accused only Carajas Siderurgia, from the Brazilian state of Maranhão, of directly exploiting workers. Inspectors examined its camp in May 2025: 49 workers shared two toilets and one shower in stalls without doors, slept in hammocks in cramped rooms without windows, and some spent the night on the ground under tarps.

The materials were handed over to prosecutors and police, and Carajas did not respond to journalists. The camp cook, Nedirane dos Santos, said she worked 17 hours a day for 30 consecutive days; according to her, the room became very hot because the food was cooked over charcoal, and there was neither a fan nor a window.

Nucor said it found no evidence that its direct suppliers knowingly used forced labor and promised to immediately sever ties with violators. Bloomberg also reported similar violations involving Brazilian suppliers to Nucor about twenty years ago; at the time, the company promised to stop buying from producers using slave labor.

Sources

• Material: theins.ru