x-20221231

2022

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)


			☒			ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022


			☐			TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to .

Commission file number 1-16811

United States Steel Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Delaware						25-1897152
(State of Incorporation)						(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

600 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-2800

(Address of principal executive offices)

Tel. No. (412) 433-1121

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (b) of the Act:


Title of Each Class	Trading Symbol	Name of Exchange on which Registered
United States Steel Corporation Common Stock, par value $1.00	X	New York Stock Exchange
United States Steel Corporation Common Stock, par value $1.00	X	Chicago Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☑ No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes No ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for at least the past 90 days. Yes ☑ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☑ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer," “smaller reporting company” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer

☒

Accelerated filer

☐

Non-accelerated filer

☐

Smaller reporting company

☐

Emerging growth company

☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ___

☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes ☑ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

Aggregate market value of Common Stock held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2022 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter): $4.3 billion. The amount shown is based on the closing price of the registrant’s Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange composite tape on that date. Shares of Common Stock held by executive officers and directors of the registrant are not included in the computation. However, the registrant has made no determination that such individuals are “affiliates” within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933.

There were 226,603,781 shares of United States Steel Corporation Common Stock outstanding as of January 30, 2023.

Documents Incorporated By Reference:

Portions of the Proxy Statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated into Part III.

INDEX


	FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	3

PART I
Item 1.	BUSINESS	4
Item 1A	RISK FACTORS	23
Item 1B	UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS	32
Item 2.	PROPERTIES	32
Item 3.	LEGAL PROCEEDINGS	37
Item 4.	MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE	40
INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS		40

PART II
Item 5.	MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES	41
Item 6.	RESERVED	43
Item 7.	MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS	43
Item 7A	QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK	59
Item 8.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA	61
Item 9.	CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE	116
Item 9A	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES	116
Item 9B	OTHER INFORMATION	116
Item 9C	DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS	116

PART III
Item 10.	DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE	116
Item 11.	EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION	117
Item 12.	SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS	117
Item 13.	CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE	117
Item 14.	PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES	117

PART IV
Item 15.	EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULE	118
SCHEDULE II		127
Item 16.	10-K SUMMARY	127

SIGNATURES		128

GLOSSARY OF CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS		129

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report contains information that may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in those sections. Generally, we have identified such forward-looking statements by using the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “target,” “forecast,” “aim,” “should,” "plan," "goal," "future," “will,” "may" and similar expressions or by using future dates in connection with any discussion of, among other things, the construction or operation of new or existing facilities or operating capabilities, the timing, size and form of share repurchase transactions, operating or financial performance, trends, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, statements relating to volume changes, share of sales and earnings per share changes, anticipated cost savings, potential capital and operational cash improvements, changes in the global economic environment, including supply and demand conditions, inflation, interest rates, supply chain disruptions and changes in prices for our products, international trade duties and other aspects of international trade policy, statements regarding our future strategies, products and innovations, statements regarding our greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, statements regarding existing or new regulations and statements expressing general views about future operating results. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but instead represent only the Company’s beliefs regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company’s control. It is possible that the Company’s actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the time made. However, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. Our Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our Company's historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the risks and uncertainties described in this report in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and those described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to (i) "U. S. Steel," "the Company," "we," "us" and "our" refer to United States Steel Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated by the context, (ii) "Big River Steel" refers to Big River Steel Holdings LLC and its direct and indirect subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated by the context and (iii) "Transtar" refers to Transtar LLC and its direct and indirect subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated by the context.

Non-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (non-GAAP) Financial Measures

This report contains the non-GAAP financial measure cash conversion cycle. We believe the cash conversion cycle is a useful measure in providing investors with information regarding our cash management performance and is a widely accepted measure of working capital management efficiency. The cash conversion cycle should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to other GAAP metrics as an indicator of performance.

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PART I

Item 1. BUSINESS

United States Steel Corporation, with operations in the United States of America (U.S.) and Central Europe, is transforming itself into a customer-centric, world-competitive, Best for All® steelmaker by investing in the competitive advantages that differentiate us in our customers' eyes. We are executing on our strategy by investing where we have distinct cost and capability advantages so that we are a superior steel solutions provider for our customers. By offering the new steels that our customers are increasingly demanding, we aim to achieve world-competitive positioning in strategic, high-margin end markets and deliver high-quality, value-added products and innovative solutions utilizing a lower carbon footprint than previously available through our traditional integrated steelmaking model.

During 2022, U. S. Steel had annual raw steel production capability of 22.4 million net tons (17.4 million tons in North America and 5.0 million tons in Europe). U. S. Steel performs a wide range of applied research, development and technical support functions at facilities in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas and Slovakia. U. S. Steel supplies customers throughout the world primarily in the automotive, construction, consumer (packaging and appliance), electrical, industrial equipment, service center/distribution, structural tubing and energy (oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and line pipe) markets. According to the worldsteel Association’s latest published statistics, U. S. Steel is the second largest U.S. based steel producer and the twenty-fourth largest steel producer in the world. U. S. Steel is a Delaware corporation established in 1901.

Segments

U. S. Steel has four reportable segments: North American Flat-Rolled (Flat-Rolled), Mini Mill, U. S. Steel Europe (USSE) and Tubular Products (Tubular). The Mini Mill segment reflects the full ownership of Big River Steel after January 15, 2021, when U. S. Steel purchased the remaining equity interest in Big River Steel that it did not previously own, and a second mini mill currently under construction in Osceola, Arkansas. Prior to the acquisition, the minority interest equity earnings of Big River Steel were included in the Other category. The Tubular segment includes the electric arc furnace at our Fairfield Tubular Operations in Fairfield, Alabama. The Other category includes results of our real estate business, the previously held equity method investment in Big River Steel, and our former Transtar business. On July 28, 2021, the Company sold 100% of the equity interests in Transtar, its short-line railroad business.

Flat-Rolled

The Flat-Rolled segment includes the operating results of U. S. Steel’s integrated steel plants and equity investees in North America involved in the production of slabs, strip mill plates, sheets and tin mill products, as well as all iron ore and coke production facilities in the United States. These operations primarily serve North American customers in the automotive, appliance, construction, container, pipe and tube, sheet converter, industrial equipment and service center markets.

During 2022, Flat-Rolled had aggregate annual raw steel production capability of 13.2 million tons at our Gary Works, Mon Valley Works, and Granite City Works facilities. In December 2021, U. S. Steel permanently idled the steelmaking operations at Great Lakes Works which reduced the Company's overall annual raw steel production capability by 3.8 million net tons. Raw steel production was 8.8 million tons in 2022, 9.9 million tons in 2021 and 9.3 million tons in 2020. Raw steel production averaged 67 percent of capability in 2022, 58 percent of capability in 2021 and 55 percent of capability in 2020.

Mini Mill

The Mini Mill segment includes the operating results of U. S. Steel's Big River Steel facility in North America and a second mini mill currently under construction in Osceola, Arkansas. The Mini Mill segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheets and electrical steels. This operation primarily serves North American customers in the automotive, appliance, construction, container, pipe and tube, sheet converter, electrical, industrial equipment and service center markets.

Mini Mill has aggregate annual raw steel production capability of 3.3 million tons at our Big River Steel facility. Raw steel production was 2.7 million tons in 2022 and 2.7 million tons in 2021. Raw steel production averaged 80 percent of capability in 2022 and 81 percent of capability in 2021.

European Operations

The USSE segment includes the operating results of U. S. Steel Košice (USSK), U. S. Steel’s integrated steel plant and coke production facilities in Slovakia, and its subsidiaries. USSE conducts its business mainly in Central and Western Europe and primarily serves customers in the European transportation (including automotive), construction, container, appliance, electrical, service center, conversion and oil, gas and petrochemical markets. USSE produces and sells slabs, strip mill plate, sheet, tin mill products and spiral welded pipe.

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USSE has annual raw steel production capability of 5.0 million tons. USSE’s raw steel production was 3.8 million tons in 2022, 4.9 million tons in 2021 and 3.4 million tons in 2020. USSE’s raw steel production averaged 77 percent of capability in 2022, 99 percent of capability in 2021 and 67 percent of capability in 2020.

Tubular

The Tubular segment includes the operating results of U. S. Steel’s tubular production facilities and an equity investee in the United States. These operations can produce and sell rounds, seamless and electric resistance welded (ERW) steel casing and tubing (commonly known as OCTG), and standard and line pipe and mechanical tubing and primarily serve customers in the oil, gas and petrochemical markets. The Tubular segment has annual raw steel production capability of 900 thousand tons. Raw steel production was 634 thousand tons in 2022, 464 thousand tons in 2021 and 16 thousand tons in 2020. Raw steel production averaged 70 percent of capability in 2022, 52 percent of capability in 2021 and 7 percent of capability in 2020. Tubular has total production capability of 1.9 million tons. In 2020, Tubular indefinitely idled the Lone Star Tubular Operations and Lorain Tubular Operations thereby effectively reducing on-line tubular production capacity by 790 thousand and 380 thousand tons, respectively. U. S. Steel Tubular Products LLC (USSTP), a wholly owned subsidiary of U. S. Steel, continues to design and develop a range of premium and semi-premium connections to address our customers' needs.

For further information, see "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Steel Shipments by Market and Segment

The following table, except as noted in Footnote 1 below, does not include shipments to end customers by joint ventures and other equity investees of U. S. Steel. Shipments of materials to these entities are included in the “Further Conversion – Joint Ventures” market classification. No single customer accounted for more than 10 percent of gross annual revenue for the three consecutive years ended December 31, 2022.


(Thousands of Tons)	Flat-Rolled	Mini Mill	USSE	Tubular	Total
Major Market – 2022
Steel Service Centers	1,128	1,080	839	—	3,047
Further Conversion – Trade Customers	2,163	772	289	—	3,224
– Joint Ventures (1)	256	—	—	—	256
Transportation and Automotive (1)	2,611	20	619	—	3,250
Construction and Construction Products	922	310	1,052	30	2,314
Containers and Packaging	693	13	423	—	1,129
Appliances and Electrical Equipment	416	93	225	—	734
Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals	—	—	3	494	497
All Other	183	—	309	—	492
TOTAL	8,372	2,288	3,759	524	14,943
Major Market – 2021
Steel Service Centers	1,539	1,121	995	—	3,655
Further Conversion – Trade Customers	1,701	684	314	—	2,699
– Joint Ventures (1)	490	—	—	—	490
Transportation and Automotive (1)	2,355	17	590	—	2,962
Construction and Construction Products	1,224	282	1,346	18	2,870
Containers and Packaging	942	17	449	—	1,408
Appliances and Electrical Equipment	570	109	266	—	945
Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals	—	—	8	426	434
All Other	197	—	334	—	531
TOTAL	9,018	2,230	4,302	444	15,994
Major Market – 2020
Steel Service Centers	1,450	—	690	—	2,140
Further Conversion – Trade Customers	2,063	—	202	—	2,265
– Joint Ventures (1)	415	—	—	—	415
Transportation and Automotive (1)	2,012	—	517	—	2,529
Construction and Construction Products	1,261	—	775	34	2,070
Containers and Packaging	913	—	435	—	1,348
Appliances and Electrical Equipment	497	—	194	—	691
Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals	—	—	5	430	435
All Other	100	—	223	—	323
TOTAL	8,711	—	3,041	464	12,216

(1) PRO-TEC automotive substrate shipments are included in the Transportation and Automotive category.

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Steel Industry Background and Competition

The global steel industry is cyclical, highly competitive and has historically been characterized by global overcapacity.

U. S. Steel's competitive position may be affected by, among other things, differences among U. S. Steel's and its competitors' cost structure, labor costs, environmental remediation and compliance costs, global capacity, achievement of innovations in new technologies and sustainable products and the existence and magnitude of government support.

U. S. Steel competes with many North American and international steel producers. Competitors include 1) integrated producers, which use iron ore and coke as the primary raw materials for steel production, 2) Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) producers, which primarily use steel scrap and other iron-bearing feedstocks as raw materials and 3) slab re-rollers, who purchase mostly imported, but some domestic, semi-finished products and convert them into sheet products. In addition, other materials, such as aluminum, plastics and composites, compete with steel in several applications. According to worldsteel Association, global steel production in 2022 declined compared to 2021, decreasing by 4 percent, or approximately 80 million metric tons, to 1.88 billion metric tons. Steel production generally decreased across the world, with the global decline primarily being driven by the top five steel producing countries and Ukraine, which collectively represents approximately 60 percent of the total global decline. Among the top five steel producing countries, production decreased in China by 22 million metric tons, or 2 percent; Japan by 7 million metric tons, or 7 percent; the U.S. by 5 million metric tons, or 6 percent; and Russia by 6 million metric tons, or 7 percent. These declines were partially offset however by India, which increased crude steel production by 7 million metric tons, or 5 percent, from 2021. Steel production in Ukraine decreased by 15 million metric tons, or 71 percent, from 2021 as a result of the Russian invasion and the impact of the ongoing conflict. The top five steel producing countries accounted for 73 percent of the world's steel production in 2022.

See "International Trade" below for a discussion of global overcapacity and the Company's efforts to mitigate the competitive impact.

EAF producers typically require lower capital expenditures for construction and operation of facilities and may have lower total employment costs. Some EAF producers utilize thin slab casting technology to produce flat-rolled products and are increasingly able to compete directly with integrated producers in many flat-rolled product applications previously produced only by integrated steelmakers. Slab re-rollers do not incur the cost of melting steel; their input costs are largely driven by the market price of slabs.

U. S. Steel provides defined benefit pension and/or other post-employment benefits to approximately 65,000 current employees, retirees and their beneficiaries. Many of our competitors do not have comparable retiree obligations. Participation in U. S. Steel's main defined benefit pension plan was closed to new entrants on July 1, 2003 and benefit accruals for all non-represented participants were frozen effective December 31, 2015. Participation in U. S. Steel’s retiree medical and life insurance programs for United Steelworkers (USW)-represented employees were closed to employees hired or rehired (except in limited circumstances) on or after January 1, 2016. For non-represented employees, retiree medical benefits were eliminated December 31, 2017, and retiree life insurance benefits for non-represented employees were eliminated for those who retired after December 31, 2017.

We believe that our major North American and many European integrated steel competitors are confronted with substantially similar environmental regulatory conditions and therefore do not believe that our relative position with regard to such competitors will be materially affected by the impact of environmental laws and regulations. However, if future regulations do not recognize that the integrated steel process involves a series of chemical reactions involving carbon that create carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions without linking these emissions to steel scrap as well, the competitive position of our integrated operations will be adversely impacted compared to mini mills. Our competitive position compared to producers in developing nations such as China, Russia, Brazil and India will be harmed unless such nations require commensurate reductions in CO2 emissions or there are policies to adjust for the carbon emissions disparities. Competing materials such as plastics may not be similarly impacted. The specific impact on each competitor will vary depending on a number of factors, including the age and location of its operating facilities and its production methods. U. S. Steel is also responsible for remediation costs related to former and present operating locations and disposal of environmentally sensitive materials. Many of our competitors, including North American producers, or their successors, that have been the subject of bankruptcy relief have no or substantially lower liabilities for such environmental remediation matters.

In 2023, we expect additional steelmaking capacity will enter the domestic steel market as competitors' growth projects come on-line or ramp up to full production in North America throughout the year.

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Business Strategy

We are executing on our customer-centric Best for All® strategy to provide customers with profitable steel solutions for people and planet. Our strategy is focused on developing quality products and customer process solutions by investing where we have distinct cost or capability competitive advantages. We are expanding our competitive advantages in low-cost iron ore, mini mill steelmaking, and best-in-class finishing assets with innovative solutions and commercial acumen. These competitive advantages are built on a foundation of research, innovation and deep customer relationships. In executing our strategy, we aim to enhance our earnings profile, deliver long-term cash flow through industry cycles and reduce our cost, capital, and carbon intensity. By offering the product capabilities, including the more sustainable steels (steels made with lower greenhouse gas emissions) our customers are increasingly demanding, we can achieve more competitive positioning in strategic, high-margin end markets, and deliver high-quality, sustainable, value-added products and innovative solutions.

Our strategy is informed by our critical success factors, which are the bedrock of the Best for All® strategy: (1) Win in Strategic Markets; (2) Move Up the Talent Curve; and (3) Move Down the Cost Curve. We are enhancing our competitive advantage in low-cost iron ore by expanding this advantage to serve our growing fleet of EAF producers (EAFs). We are currently investing in pig iron capability to enhance the efficiencies of our blast furnace operations as well as reduce the cost structure and reduce the global supply chain risk of our EAFs by increasingly feeding them with internally-produced pig iron. In the future, we may plan to further expand our low-cost iron ore advantage by incorporating in direct reduced iron (DRI) or hot briquetted iron (HBI) capabilities into our internal supply chain. We recently took an important step in this direction by investing in direct reduced (DR)-grade pellet capabilities to produce the feedstock for a potential future investment in DRI/HBI. We are also investing in new technologies to improve our cost position and increase our capabilities, including our mini mill steelmaking and best-in-class finishing capabilities. We will focus on strategic markets, where there is the greatest opportunity to provide differentiated, innovative and value-added solutions that will help our customers succeed. We know that to accomplish our objectives, we also need to continue to move up the talent curve. We are investing in our employees and providing the training and resources they need to succeed. This will help us reinforce a culture of caring, where accountability, fairness and respect are foundational, and high performance and inclusion in all its forms are valued and celebrated. See "Human Capital Management" below for additional information on our talent attraction, development, and retention initiatives.

U. S. Steel will continue to evaluate potential strategic and organizational opportunities, which may include the acquisition, divestiture or consolidation of assets. Given the cyclicality of our industry, we are focused on strategically deploying our capital, in-line with our capital allocation framework, in order to invest in areas consistent with the execution of our Best for All strategy and are considering various possibilities, including exiting lines of business and the sale of certain assets, that we believe would ultimately result in greater stockholder value. The Company will pursue opportunities based on its long-term strategy that is aligned with what is in the best interests of the Company's stockholders.

Strategic Projects, Technology Investments and Operating Configuration Adjustments

Throughout 2022, the Company continued to advance its Best for All strategy. On January 11, 2022, the Company announced Osceola, Arkansas as the site of a new sustainable and technologically advanced steel mill. The planned mini mill is expected to have about 3 million tons per year of steelmaking capability, and will combine two state-of-the-art EAFs with differentiated steelmaking and finishing technology, including endless casting and rolling equipment and a planned advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) finishing line. The Company is working with the same technical advisors and engineers who were instrumental in the successful construction of the adjacent Big River Steel facilities. Upon completion, we expect that this project will apply to become LEED® certified. We believe that the continued adoption of mini mill technology will expand our ability to produce the next generation of proprietary sustainable steel solutions, including AHSS. The project is expected to be completed in 2024.

In the second quarter 2022, the Company began the construction of a pig iron caster at our Gary Works facility. The approximately $60 million capital investment will produce up to 500,000 tons of pig iron annually and provide a critical raw material input for the Company's EAFs. The Gary Works pig iron project is expected to provide nearly 50 percent of Big River Steel’s ore-based metallics needs and deliver an internal rate of return in excess of 30 percent. Pig iron production at Gary Works and shipments to Big River Steel began in the fourth quarter 2022.

In the third quarter 2022, the Company began construction of a DR grade pellet facility at its Keetac ore operations. The approximately $150 million investment is expected to be operational in 2024. In addition to producing DR-grade pellets to ultimately feed EAFs with DRI or HBI, the production facility will maintain flexibility to continue producing blast furnace grade pellets. Upon completion, the Company could also sell the DR-grade pellets to third-party DRI or HBI producers. The DR-grade pellets produced will be a new product line for U. S. Steel.

In August 2021, the Company commenced construction on a non-grain oriented (NGO) electrical steel line at Big River Steel. The Company expects this $450 million investment to make Big River Steel a leader in NGO electrical steels by delivering product capabilities in this growing market. The 200 thousand ton NGO electrical steel line is expected to deliver first coil in September 2023 and be available to meet the growing electric vehicle demand expected in North America over the coming years.

In the third quarter 2021, the Company also began construction on a 325 thousand ton galvanize/Galvalume® line at Big River Steel. This $280 million investment is expected to grow the Company’s best-in-class finishing capabilities, by expanding the

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Company’s presence in value-added construction applications and enhancing Big River Steel’s product mix. This finishing line is expected to begin production in second quarter 2024.

As the Company advances and expands its mini mill capability, it seeks to become better, not bigger and will adjust its footprint accordingly by re-evaluating cost and capability advantages within its evolving footprint. In December 2021 and June 2022, the Company permanently idled the steelmaking and ironmaking operations, respectively, at its Great Lakes Works facility. In addition, in March 2022, the Company permanently idled the finishing facilities at its East Chicago Tin operations, which had been idled on an indefinite basis during 2019. The coil finishing process at Great Lakes Works continues to operate and remains a component of the Company's operating plans. In December 2022, we the Company indefinitely idled the majority of tin operations at our Gary Works facility.

Commercial Strategy

Our commercial strategy is focused on providing customer-centric solutions with differentiated and value-added steel products, which includes advanced high strength steels such as our newer grades of generation 3 (GEN3) steel, coated sheets for the automotive and appliance industries, electrical steel sheets for the manufacture of motors and electrical equipment, both bare and prepainted galvanized and Galvalume® sheets for construction, heavy gauge hot rolled coils used in the production of construction and agricultural-related heavy machinery as well as skelp for line pipe used for energy transmission as well as extraction, tin mill products for the packaging industry and OCTG pipe, connections, accessories and rig site services for use in drilling for oil and gas. In addition, our portfolio of customers serves a variety of different traditional and emerging industries meeting the needs of numerous markets.

U. S. Steel is committed to leveraging our Best for All strategy to develop and commercialize our low-carbon footprint and advanced high-strength steels for our current and future customers. Over the next five years, U. S. Steel plans to develop and commercialize numerous differentiated grades of low-carbon footprint, high rate of recycled-content steels, providing compelling new options for customers in automotive, appliance, industrial equipment, construction, renewable energy and other markets to enhance the sustainability of their products. For example, in April 2021, we announced a new sustainable steel product line, verdeXTM, which is made with up to 90% recycled steel content and a reduced carbon footprint - as much as 70-80% smaller than traditional integrated steelmaking methods. After launching our verdeXTM brand of sustainable steel products in 2021, we worked closely with customers on their own sustainability goals. In 2022, we reached agreements with multiple customers on the sale of verdeXTM products moving forward in industries such as automotive, construction, and distribution, setting the stage for increased sales of verdeXTM in these and other industries in 2023 and beyond. In addition, we continue to work with customers in numerous industries to help them implement AHSS solutions in the products they manufacture. While the automotive industry has been most active in the application of these products in new vehicle platforms, and it continues to accelerate the deployment of AHSS solutions in new vehicle launches, U. S. Steel is successfully introducing AHSS in other industries as well. Our collaboration with Greenbrier and Norfolk-Southern generated new AHSS sales into the railcar market in 2022, and we also commenced new projects in other industries such as appliance, construction, and in the renewable energy sector to create stronger, lightweight, cost-effective AHSS applications.

We are responsive to our customers' changing needs by developing new steel products and uses for steel that meet their evolving markets and regulatory demands. We have research centers in Munhall, Pennsylvania, Košice, Slovakia, and Houston, Texas, as well as a technology center in Troy, Michigan. The focus of these centers is to engineer new products and to co-create innovative solutions that meet our customers' toughest challenges to reduce carbon emissions, increase strength, improve longevity and serve the needs of their customers. In the fourth quarter 2022, we continued to invest in our talent by hiring a Chief Technology Officer to provide overall enterprise leadership, focusing on driving innovation and product development, as well as enhancing our manufacturing capability.

For automotive customers leveraging advanced high strength steels, we commissioned a first of its kind GEN3 hot dipped galvanize line at our PRO-TEC Coating Company (PRO-TEC) joint venture in 2020, and have embedded application engineers at original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to demonstrate how to best utilize the high strength, highly formable, cost effective material in body design to meet passenger safety requirements while significantly reducing weight to meet future vehicle fuel efficiency standards.

In our tubular markets, we continue development of premium and semi-premium tubular connections designed for our customers that operate in challenging drilling environments. These connections optimize well construction activities and provide outstanding sealing capabilities for onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling in North America. An example is the USS-TALON HTQ™, which was introduced in 2020 for customers that are constructing onshore natural gas and oil wells with long laterals requiring best-in-class torque capacity and optimized well-bore clearances.

Commercial Sales of Product

U. S. Steel characterizes sales as contract sales if sold pursuant to an agreement with a defined volume and pricing and a duration of longer than three months, and as spot if sold without a defined volume and pricing agreement, typically three months or less. In 2022, approximately 76 percent, 61 percent, 48 percent and 78 percent of sales by Flat-Rolled, Mini Mill, USSE and Tubular, respectively, were contract sales. Some contract pricing agreements include fixed prices while others are adjusted periodically based upon published prices of steel products or cost components.

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Human Capital Management

At U. S. Steel, we are focused on attracting and retaining the top talent needed to support our strategic transformation and meet our customers’ evolving needs as a sustainable steel solutions provider. The support and development of our people is foundational to achieving our Best for All strategy. We refer to this strategic talent pillar as “Moving Up the Talent Curve.”

Our focus on people extends to our current and future employees. We aim to have an engaged and diverse workforce to promote new ideas and innovation, reflect the communities where we operate, and deliver exceptional customer service. We seek to build an inclusive environment where people feel free to bring their professional selves to work. To achieve the Best for All strategy, we must have the “Best from All.”


Active Employees as of December 31, 2022
North America			14,487
Slovakia			8,253
Total			22,740

Ethics & Compliance

Our culture is based on our S.T.E.E.L. Principles: Safety First; Trust and Respect; Environmental Stewardship; Excellence and Accountability; and Lawful and Ethical Conduct. We expect our employees and members of our board of directors to take personal responsibility to “do what’s right,” and our Code of Ethical Business Conduct serves as the foundation for the actions of our employees and directors. To further ensure that employees understand the Company’s expectations and all applicable rules, we provide annual formal ethics and compliance training to our employees and have frequent communications with information about key compliance topics, which include messages from senior management underscoring the importance of doing business with integrity. Employees also receive summaries of current events that demonstrate the need to do business lawfully and ethically that include reminders of the company’s expectations for all employees. In addition, through our annual policy certification process, employees of USSK, non-represented employees in the United States, and members of our board of directors certify their ongoing compliance with our Code of Ethical Business Conduct.

Employee Health & Safety

At U. S. Steel, we have a long-standing commitment to the safety and health of every person who works in our facilities. Every employee deserves to return home safely at the end of every day, and we are working to eliminate all injuries and incidents. In addition, the psychological safety of all employees is important to us. We have combined physical safety and psychological safety into the construct of 360° safety. Ensuring a safe workplace also improves productivity, quality, reliability and financial performance. By making safety and health a personal responsibility, our employees are making a daily commitment to follow safe work practices, look out for the safety of co-workers and ensure safe working conditions for everyone. A “Safety First” mindset is as essential to our success as the tools and technologies we rely on to do business.

Our objective is to attain a sustainable zero harm culture supported by leadership and owned by an engaged and highly skilled workforce, empowered with the capabilities and resources needed to assess, reduce and eliminate workplace risks and hazards. In support of these objectives, we have developed an enhanced Safety Management System, initiated new safety communication methods and enhanced contractor safety processes. One of our most important safety protocols is our fatality prevention audit program. These proactive assessments of the processes and protocols we have in place, and adherence to them, to avoid fatalities and severe injuries are conducted annually at the enterprise level and more frequently at each of our facilities. We assess our safety performance through a variety of lagging and leading indicators, including OSHA Days Away From Work (DAFW). This measurement allows us to evaluate the frequency of injuries sustained at our facilities requiring an employee to stay at home for more than one day. U. S. Steel has achieved record-safety performance in this measurement in the last several years, routinely achieving performance better than industry benchmarks.

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For 2022, we had a corporate DAFW rate of 0.05, which is 18 times better than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Iron and Steel benchmark DAFW rate of 0.90.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Attracting, developing, and retaining a workforce of talented, diverse people is essential to having high-performing teams that drive results for our Company’s stakeholders. As part of our commitment to cultivating a culture of caring, we have inclusive benefits available for our U.S. non-represented workforce, including expanded parental leave, back-up dependent care, infertility coverage, gender reassignment coverage and healthcare continuation for the families of employees who suffered work-related or military service fatalities. We also support several employee resource groups (ERGs) to enhance employee engagement, promote a culture of belonging, foster diversity in the workplace, and raise awareness related to issues of identity and intersectionality. Our ERGs also provide training and education, mentorship and networking opportunities for their members.

Talent Attraction, Development and Retention

We believe that attraction, development and retention of talent is essential to our success, especially in today’s competitive labor market. We offer internship programs, partner with universities, community colleges and technical schools, and collaborate with community employment centers and economic development nonprofit organizations to build strong and diverse internal and external sources of potential employees and opportunities for our existing employee's growth and development.

Once at U. S. Steel, we seek to provide opportunities for continuous learning and development. All of our employees at a director-level and above have a formal professional development plan that is assessed at least annually. In addition, we proactively monitor our attrition rates and take targeted actions to ensure our highest potential and performing employees are motivated to remain with the Company. Over the past five years, our regrettable voluntary turnover rate has been at or below 5 percent.

We offer a competitive total rewards package of compensation and benefits that we regularly evaluate and benchmark across the manufacturing industry to ensure that we position U. S. Steel as an employer of choice.

At the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, we quickly transitioned our corporate and administrative employees, approximately 10% of our workforce, to a work-from-home environment. We’ve invested in technology to maintain this virtual community and found that our employees are more productive and have more flexibility and autonomy in managing their workload in a way that best fits their situation. We plan to maintain a virtual / hybrid working option for these employees in order to promote workplace flexibility and attract and retain highly qualified employees across the country.

Labor Relations

Approximately 80% of our employees in North America and Slovakia are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We work closely with union representatives to provide safe and productive workplaces that enable our employees to deliver high-quality products and meet the needs of our customers. Our relationship with the United Steelworkers (USW) includes not only a

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commitment to safety programs, but also a common approach to combating the unfairly traded imports that threaten our industry, our company and ultimately the jobs of our employees.

Certain hourly employees of U. S. Steel’s flat-rolled, tubular, cokemaking and iron ore operations in the United States are covered by collective bargaining agreements with the USW entered into effective September 1, 2022, (the 2022 Labor Agreements) that expire on September 1, 2026. The 2022 Labor Agreements include a signing bonus for each eligible USW-represented employee and annual 5% wage increases effective September 1, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The 2022 Labor Agreements also provide for certain increases to pension and retirement benefits, including increases in our defined benefit pension plan, retiree healthcare contributions, and to the contribution rate to the Steelworkers Pension Trust from $3.50 to $4.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2023. During the fourth quarter of 2022, U. S. Steel recorded a charge of approximately $67 million for the 2022 Labor Agreements signing bonus and related costs.

In addition, as part of the collective bargaining process, U. S. Steel and the USW agreed to leverage the overfunded OPEB plans to support the benefits provided to active represented employees. The OPEB plans were modified to allow the Company to utilize a certain amount of surplus assets to pay additional legally permissible benefits previously paid by the Company. The arrangement permits the Company to utilize a target of $75 million annually for active and retiree employee benefits, with an annual minimum of $50 million, beginning in 2023 and continuing through December 31, 2026. For additional information, see Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Capital Structure, Liquidity and Capital Allocation

Our Best for All strategy's primary financial goal is to enhance stockholder value by utilizing our capital structure, liquidity and enhanced capital allocation priorities to advance the Company's strategic objectives, generate long-term value and reward stockholders. Our cash deployment strategy is aligned with our corporate strategy and includes: executing on strategic projects and portfolio moves; maintaining a strong balance sheet and a healthy pension plan; and delivering sustainable growth with a focus on core values such as safety and environmental stewardship and rewarding stockholders for the continued progress we make. Cash deployment is also performed with a customer-centric focus on improving safety, our environment, quality, delivery and cost.

Our liquidity supports our ability to satisfy short-term obligations, fund working capital requirements and provides a foundation to execute key strategic priorities. We are focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet and may proactively refinance or repay our debt from time to time to protect our capital structure from unforeseen external events and re-financing risks.

On May 27, 2022, U. S. Steel entered into the Sixth Amended and Restated Credit Facility Agreement (Credit Facility Agreement) to replace the existing Fifth Amended and Restated Credit Facility Agreement (Fifth Credit Facility Agreement). The Credit Facility Agreement has substantially the same terms as the Fifth Credit Facility Agreement, except the Credit Facility Agreement references the Secured Overnight Financing Rate instead of the London Interbank Offered Rate, adjusts the individual lenders' commitments, and renews the five-year maturity to May 27, 2027, and the financial impact from replacing the Fifth Credit Facility Agreement was immaterial. The Credit Facility Agreement also adjusts the threshold for the fixed charge coverage ratio. The total availability under the facility remained the same at $1,750 million. Consistent with the Fifth Credit Facility Agreement, the Credit Facility Agreement is secured by first-priority liens on certain accounts receivable and inventory and includes targets related to greenhouse gas emissions intensity reduction, safety performance and facility certification by ResponsibleSteel™.

On September 6, 2022, U. S. Steel closed on an offering of $290 million aggregate principal amount of 5.450% Environmental Improvement Revenue Bonds due 2052 (2052 ADFA Green Bonds). U. S. Steel received net proceeds of approximately $287 million after fees of approximately $3 million related to the underwriting and third-party expenses. The net proceeds from the issuance of the 2052 ADFA Green Bonds will be used to partially fund work related to U. S. Steel's solid waste disposal facilities, including two EAFs and other equipment facilities at its new technologically-advanced flat rolled steel making facility, BR2, currently under construction near Osceola, Arkansas.

In 2022, we repurchased approximately $365 million in debt, and we ended the year with $5.9 billion of total liquidity.

On July 25, 2022, following the completion of previously authorized $800 million share repurchase programs, the Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program for the repurchase of up to $500 million of the Company's outstanding common stock from time to time in the open market or privately negotiated transactions at the discretion of management. The Company's share repurchase program does not obligate it to acquire any specific number of shares.

U. S. Steel repurchased 37.6 million shares of common stock for approximately $849 million under these programs during the year ended December 31, 2022, and there is approximately $301 million remaining under the current stock repurchase authorization. In addition, the Board of Directors declared quarterly dividends of five cents per common share for each of the quarters in 2022.

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Facilities and Locations as of December 31, 2022

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Flat-Rolled

The operating results of all U. S. Steel's domestic-integrated steel and sheet plants, coke and iron ore operations and ore and sheet production joint ventures are included in Flat-Rolled. Also, included within Flat-Rolled is a research and technology center located in Munhall, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh) and a technology center in Troy, Michigan. The research and technology center carries out a wide range of applied research, development and technical support functions. The technology center brings automotive sales, service, distribution and logistics services, product technology and applications research into one location and much of U. S. Steel’s work in developing new grades of steel to meet the demands of automakers for high-strength, light-weight and formable materials is carried out at this location.


Flat-Rolled Operations Table
Operations, (Property Location)	Annual Production Capability	Principal Products and/or Services
Gary Works, (Gary, Indiana)(a)	7.5 million tons of raw steel	strip mill plate in coil; hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheets; and tin mill products
Midwest, (Portage, Indiana)	finishing facility	hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheets; and tin mill products
Great Lakes Works (b), (Ecorse, River Rouge and Dearborn, Michigan)	finishing facility	cold-rolled and coated sheets
Mon Valley Works (c): Edgar Thompson, (Braddock, Pennsylvania), Irvin, (West Mifflin, Pennsylvania), Fairless, (Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania), and Clairton, (Clairton, Pennsylvania)	2.9 million tons of raw steel and 4.3 million tons of coke	hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheets; and coke and coke by-products
Granite City Works (d), (Granite City, Illinois)	2.8 million tons of raw steel	slabs and hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheets
Granite City Works, (Granite City, Illinois); Gateway Energy and Coke Company LLC (Gateway)	coke supply agreement	not applicable
USS-UPI, LLC (UPI)(e), (Pittsburg, California)	finishing facility	cold-rolled and coated sheets; tin mill products
Fairfield Works, (Fairfield, Alabama)	finishing facility	coated sheets
Minnesota Ore Operations: Minntac, (Mt. Iron, Minnesota) and Keetac, (Keewatin, Minnesota)	22.4 million tons of iron ore pellets	iron ore pellets
(a) The majority of tin operations were indefinitely idled as of December 31, 2022.
(b) The steel and ironmaking production facilities were permanently idled in December of 2021 and June of 2022, respectively. Great Lakes Works' pickle line, cold mill and CGL continue to operate, while the DESCO and electrolytic galvanizing lines are indefinitely idled.
(c) From time to time, we may swap coke with other domestic steel producers or sell on the open market. Coke by-products are sold to the chemicals and raw materials industries.
(d) In March 2020, one of the blast furnaces at Granite City Works was indefinitely idled.
(e) In February 2020, UPI was added with the purchase of the remaining 50% ownership interest from POSCO.

Joint Ventures Within Flat-Rolled

U. S. Steel participates in a number of joint ventures that are included in Flat-Rolled, most of which are conducted through subsidiaries. All of these joint ventures are accounted for under the equity method. The significant joint ventures and other investments are described below.


Joint Ventures (a) Within Flat-Rolled Table
Joint Venture, (Property Location)	U. S. Steel's Ownership Percentage	Annual Production Capability
Hibbing Taconite Company (Hibbing); (Hibbing, Minnesota)	14.7%	9 million tons of which U. S. Steel's share is 1.3 million tons
PRO-TEC Coating Company (PRO-TEC), (Leipsic, Ohio)	50.0%	2.0 million tons (b)
Double G Coatings Company (Double G) (c); Jackson, Mississippi	50.0%	315 thousand tons
Worthington Specialty Processing (Worthington) (d)	49.0%	not applicable
Chrome Deposit Corporation (CDC), (six locations near major steel plants)	50.0%	not applicable
(a) See further information about our equity investees in Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
(b) U. S. Steel's domestic production facilities supply PRO-TEC with cold-rolled sheets and U. S. Steel markets all of PRO-TEC's products.
(c) Each partner supplies its own steel to Double G and markets what is processed by Double G.
(d) In 2022, Worthington Specialty Processing sold its remaining manufacturing facilities. The joint venture is expected to be dissolved in 2023.

Mini Mill

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The operations of Big River Steel are included in Mini Mill. Big River Steel, located in Osceola, Arkansas, is an EAF sheet steel production facility.


Mini Mill Operations Table
Operations, (Property Location)	Annual Production Capability	Principal Products and/or Services
Big River Steel, (Osceola, Arkansas)	3.3 million tons of raw steel	hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheets; and electrical steels

USSE

USSE operates in Košice, Slovakia an integrated facility and a research laboratory, which, in conjunction with our Research and Technology Center, supports efforts in coke making, electrical steels, and design and instrumentation.


USSE Operations Table
Operations, (Property Location)	Annual Production Capability	Principal Products and/or Services
U. S. Steel Košice, (Košice, Slovakia)	5.0 million tons of raw steel	coke; slabs; strip mill plate: hot, cold and coated sheets; tin mill products; and spiral welded pipe

Tubular

Tubular manufactures seamless and welded OCTG, standard pipe, line pipe and mechanical tubing.


Tubular Operations Table
Operations, (Property Location)	Production Capability	Principal Products and Services
Fairfield Tubular Operations, (Fairfield, Alabama)	0.9 million tons of raw steel (a) and 750 thousand tons of tubular	seamless tubular pipe
Lorain Tubular Operations (b), (Lorain, Ohio)	380 thousand tons of tubular	seamless tubular pipe
Lone Star Tubular (b), (Lone Star, Texas)	#1 electric-weld pipe mill (EWPM) 400 thousand tons and #2 EWPM 380 thousand tons of tubular	welded tubular pipe
Wheeling Machine Products (c), (Pine Bluff, Arkansas and Hughes Springs, Texas)	not applicable	tubular couplings
Offshore Operations, (Houston, Texas)	not applicable	tubular threading, inspection, accessories and storage services and premium connections
Tubular Processing (d), (Houston, Texas)	not applicable	tubular processing
(a) Based on the rounds caster capacity which is its constraining production unit.
(b) In April 2020, the Lorain Tubular and Lone Star Tubular operations were temporarily idled for an indefinite period of time.
(c) In April 2020, the Wheeling Machine Products at Hughes Springs, Texas was temporarily idled for an indefinite period of time.
(d) Tubular Processing has been temporarily idled since 2015.


Joint Ventures (a) Within Tubular Table
Operations, (Property Location)	U. S. Steel's Ownership Percentage	Production Capability	Principal Products and/or Services
Patriot Premium Threading Services, (Midland, Texas)	50%	not applicable	Tubular threading, accessories and premium connections
(a) See further information about our equity investees in Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Other

U. S. Steel’s Other category includes the operating results relating to our real estate operations, the previously held equity method investment in Big River Steel, and our former railroad business. The Company owns approximately 45,000 acres of real estate assets, either held for development or managed, in Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

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Raw Materials and Energy

As a predominantly integrated producer, U. S. Steel’s primary raw materials are iron units in the form of iron ore pellets and sinter ore, carbon units in the form of coal and coke (which is produced from coking coal) and steel scrap. For our EAF production, our primary raw material is scrap. U. S. Steel’s raw materials supply strategy consists of acquiring and expanding captive sources of certain primary raw materials and entering into flexible supply contracts for certain other raw materials at competitive market prices that are subject to fluctuations based on market conditions at the time.

The amounts of such raw materials needed to produce a ton of steel will fluctuate based upon the specifications of the final steel products, the quality of raw materials and, to a lesser extent, differences among steel producing equipment. In broad terms, the Company's integrated steel process consumes approximately 1.4 tons of coal to produce one ton of coke and then it consumes approximately 0.3 tons of coke, 0.3 tons of steel scrap (approximately 60 percent of which is internally generated) and 1.3 tons of iron ore pellets to produce one ton of raw steel. In addition, we consume approximately 10 mmbtu’s of natural gas per ton produced. Generally, the Company's mini mill operations consumes approximately 0.8 tons of steel scrap, 0.3 tons of pig iron, and 0.1 tons of HBI to produce one ton of raw steel. In addition, the mini mill operations consume approximately 0.6 MKWH of electricity per ton of raw steel produced. While we believe that these estimated consumption amounts are useful for planning purposes, and are presented to give a general sense of raw material and energy consumption related to steel production, substantial variations may occur.

Iron Ore

(a) Includes our share of production from Hibbing through December 31, 2022.

The iron ore facilities at Minntac and Keetac contain approximately 900 million short tons of indicated resources and probable reserves and our share of recoverable reserves at the Hibbing joint venture is approximately 4 million short tons. Refer to Mining Properties in Item 2 of this Form 10-K for additional information. Recoverable reserves are defined as the tons of product that can be used internally or delivered to a customer after considering mining and beneficiation or preparation losses. Minntac and Keetac’s annual capability and our share of annual capability for the Hibbing joint venture total approximately 23 million tons. We have iron ore pellet production capability that exceeds our steelmaking capability in the U.S.

We historically have sold iron ore pellets to third parties, including in 2022, 2021 and 2020. The Company has agreements to supply iron ore pellets to third-party customers over the next several years.

Substantially all of USSE’s iron ore requirements are purchased from outside sources, primarily Ukrainian and Brazilian mining companies. Prices are determined in long-term contracts with strategic suppliers or as spot prices negotiated monthly or quarterly. USSE also has received iron ore from U. S. Steel’s iron ore facilities in North America. We believe that supplies of iron ore adequate to meet USSE’s needs are available at competitive market prices.

Coking Coal

All of U. S. Steel’s coal requirements for our cokemaking facilities are purchased from outside sources. Pricing for Flat-Rolled's coking coal contracts are typically negotiated on a yearly basis, and from time to time we have entered into multi-year agreements for a portion of our coking coal requirements.

Prices for European contracts are negotiated quarterly, annually or determined as index-based prices.

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We believe that supplies of coking coal adequate to meet our needs are available from outside sources at competitive market prices. The main source of coking coal for Flat-Rolled is the United States, and sources for USSE include Poland, Ukraine, Canada, Australia and the United States.

Coke

In North America, the Flat-Rolled segment operates a cokemaking facility at the Clairton Plant of Mon Valley Works. At our Granite City Works, we have a 15-year coke supply agreement with Gateway that expires on December 31, 2024. Blast furnace injection of coal, and self-generated coke oven gas is also used to reduce coke usage.

With Flat-Rolled’s cokemaking facilities and the Gateway long-term supply agreement, it has the capability to be nearly self-sufficient with respect to its annual coke requirements at normal operating levels. Coke from time to time has been purchased from, sold to, or swapped with suppliers and other end-users to adjust for production needs and reduce transportation costs.

In Europe, the USSE segment operates cokemaking facilities at USSK. While USSE is self-sufficient for coke at normal operating levels, it periodically purchases coke from Polish and Czech coke producers to meet production needs. Volume and price are negotiated quarterly.

Steel Scrap and Other Materials

We believe that supplies of steel scrap and alloys that are adequate to meet our needs are readily available from outside sources at competitive market prices for the Flat-Rolled, Mini Mill and USSE segments. Generally, approximately 38 percent of our steel scrap requirements were internally generated through normal operations for these segments.

Limestone

All of Flat-Rolled’s limestone requirements and USSE's lime and limestone requirements are purchased from outside sources. We believe that supplies of limestone and lime adequate to meet our needs are readily available from outside sources at competitive market prices.

Zinc and Tin

We believe that supplies of zinc and tin required to fulfill the requirements for Flat-Rolled, Mini Mill and USSE are available from outside sources at competitive market prices. For Flat-Rolled and Mini Mill the main sources of zinc are Canada, Mexico and the United States and the main sources of tin are Bolivia, Brazil and Peru. For USSE, the main sources of zinc are Finland, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany and Slovakia and the main sources of tin are Peru, Indonesia, China and Bolivia.

During 2022, Flat-Rolled protected approximately 40 percent and 75 percent of its operation's zinc and tin purchases, respectively, with financial swap derivatives to manage exposure to zinc and tin price fluctuations. During 2022, USSE protected approximately 16 percent of its operation's zinc purchases with forward physical contracts to manage our exposure to zinc price fluctuations and protected approximately 68 percent of its operation's tin purchases with financial swaps to manage our exposure to tin price fluctuations. For further information, see Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Natural Gas

All of U. S. Steel’s natural gas requirements are purchased from outside sources.

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We believe that adequate supplies to meet Flat-Rolled’s, Mini Mill's and Tubular's needs are available at competitive market prices. For 2022, approximately 70 percent of our natural gas purchases in Flat-Rolled were based on bids solicited on a monthly basis from various vendors; the remainder were made daily or with term agreements.

We believe that adequate natural gas supplies to meet USSE’s needs are available at competitive market prices. During 2022, we routinely executed fixed-price forward physical purchase contracts for natural gas to partially manage our exposure to natural gas price increases. For 2022, approximately 48 percent of our natural gas purchases in USSE were made with fixed-price forward physical purchase contracts; the remainder were based on bids solicited on a quarterly or monthly basis.

Flat-Rolled and USSE use self-generated coke oven and blast furnace gas to reduce consumption of natural gas. USSE uses self-generated coke oven, converter and blast furnace gas to reduce consumption of natural gas and steam coal that results in lower CO2 emissions production.

Additionally, Russian supply of natural gas to Europe has decreased significantly in response to enacted sanctions. However, Slovakia has natural gas storage and access to additional supply from countries including Norway, the U.S. and Africa. Together, these sources are enough to support the country's expected consumption through the 2023 winter season, which includes demand for natural gas for our USSE segment operations.

Industrial Gases

U. S. Steel purchases industrial gas in the U.S. under long-term contracts with various suppliers. USSE owns and operates its own industrial gas facility, but also may purchase industrial gases from time to time from third parties.

International Trade

U. S. Steel continues to face import competition, much of which is unfairly traded and fueled by massive global steel overcapacity, currently estimated to be over 500 million metric tons per year—more than five times the entire U.S. steel market and over seventeen times total U.S. steel imports. These imports and overcapacity negatively impact the Company’s operational and financial performance. U. S. Steel continues to lead efforts to address these challenges that threaten the Company, our workers, our stockholders and our country’s national and economic security.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) is managing a process in which U.S. companies may request and/or oppose temporary product exclusions from the Section 232 tariffs and quotas. U. S. Steel opposes exclusion requests for imported products that are the same as, or substitutes for, products manufactured by U. S. Steel.

Multiple legal challenges to the Section 232 action continue before the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), the latter which has consistently rejected constitutional and statutory challenges to the Section 232 action.

Since its implementation in March 2018, the Section 232 action has supported the U.S. steel industry’s and U. S. Steel’s investments in advanced steel production capabilities, technology and skills, strengthening U.S. national and economic security. The Company continues to actively defend the Section 232 action.

In February 2019, the European Commission (EC) implemented a definitive safeguard on global steel imports in the form of TRQs that impose 25 percent tariffs on steel imports that exceed the TRQ limit, effective through June 2024. In December 2022, the EC initiated a fourth review of the safeguard.

Antidumping duties (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD or antisubsidy duties) apply in addition to the Section 232 tariffs, quotas, TRQs and the EC’s safeguard, and AD/CVD orders may continue beyond the Section 232 action and the EC’s safeguard. U. S. Steel continues to actively defend and maintain the 61 U.S. AD/CVD orders and 14 EU AD/CVD orders covering U. S. Steel products in multiple proceedings before the DOC, U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), CIT, CAFC, the EC and European courts, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In July 2022, the ITC voted to continue the AD/CVD orders on corrosion-resistant steel from China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan and cold-rolled steel from China, India, Japan, South Korea and the UK for another five years, but voted to revoke the AD/CVD orders on cold-rolled steel from Brazil. In October 2022, the ITC voted to continue the AD/CVD orders on hot-rolled

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steel from Australia, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom for another five years, but voted to revoke the AD/CVD orders on hot-rolled steel from Brazil. Also, in October 2022, the ITC voted to impose new AD/CVD orders on imports of OCTG from Argentina, Mexico, Korea and Russia.

In August 2022, the EC imposed definitive AD measures on imports of hot-dipped galvanized steel from Russia and Turkey and announced the continuation of AD measures on imports of cold-rolled steel from China and Russia for another five years. The EC is conducting five-year reviews of the AD/CVD orders on hot-rolled steel from five countries with a decision expected in 2023.

In April 2022, the U.S. suspended normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, resulting in higher than normal tariffs on imports from Russia and Belarus, including steel and raw materials. In June, President Biden announced additional tariff increases on certain products from Russia, including certain steel products and ferroalloys, effective August 1, 2022.

Additional tariffs of 7.5 to 25 percent continue to apply to certain U.S. imports from China, including certain raw materials used in steel production, semi-finished and finished steel products, and downstream steel-intensive products, pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is currently conducting a statutory review of the Section 301 tariffs.

The United States and EU are currently negotiating a global sustainable steel arrangement to restore market-oriented conditions and address carbon intensity that is targeted for completion by the end of 2023.

U. S. Steel will continue to execute a broad, global strategy to maximize opportunities and navigate challenges presented by imports, global steel overcapacity, and international trade law and policy developments.

Environmental Stewardship

U. S. Steel is committed to effective environmental stewardship. We have implemented and continue to develop business practices that are designed to reduce negative environmental impacts. We believe part of being a good corporate citizen requires a dedicated focus on how our industry affects the environment. We have taken the actions described below in furtherance of that goal. U. S. Steel's environmental expenditures totaled $334 million in 2022, $302 million in 2021 and $278 million in 2020. Overall, environmental compliance expenditures represent approximately 2 percent of U. S. Steel’s total costs and expenses in 2022, 2021 and 2020. For further information, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Environmental Matters.”

We continue to work on the promotion of cost-effective environmental strategies by supporting the development of appropriate air, water and waste laws and regulations at the local, state, national and international levels. We are committed to reducing our emissions and are investigating, creating and implementing innovative, best practice solutions throughout our operations to improve our environmental performance and to manage and reduce energy consumption.

U. S. Steel’s North America operations recycled 4.8 million tons of purchased and produced steel scrap annually in 2022 and in 2021. USSK recycled approximately 754 thousand tons and 970 thousand tons of produced steel scrap in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Because of steel’s physical properties, our products can be recycled at the end of their useful life without loss of quality, contributing to steel’s high recycling rate and affordability. North America operations recycled approximately 2.2 million tons of blast furnace slag, 58 thousand tons of Basic Oxygen Process steel slag, and 75 thousand tons of electric arc furnace slag by selling it for use as aggregate and in highway construction. In 2022, USSK recycled approximately 1.1 million tons of blast furnace slag, and 168 thousand tons of Basic Oxygen Process steel slag.

Many of our major production facilities have Environmental Management Systems that are certified to the ISO 14001 Standard. This standard, published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), provides the framework for the measurement and improvement of environmental impacts of the certified facility.

In 2019, and in each succeeding year since, we published the Clairton Operating and Environmental Report related to our Clairton Plant of Mon Valley Works. While U. S. Steel agreed to publish an annual report as part of the 2019 Allegheny County Health Department Settlement Order and Agreement, we took the opportunity to enhance the report by including detailed descriptions of our operations, our safety and environmental performance and community involvement in order to provide easily accessible information for the public. The Report details battery combustion stack and fugitive emission performance at Clairton and Clairton's continued commitment to environmental stewardship. In 2021, we published a similar report for the Edgar Thomson facility.

Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

In 2019, the Company announced its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity across its global footprint by 20 percent, as measured by the rate of CO2 equivalents emitted per ton of finished steel shipped, by 2030 based on 2018 baseline levels. Then, in 2021, the Company announced its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, as measured by the rate of CO2

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equivalents emitted per ton of finished steel shipped. The Company has provided information on paths to achieve this goal on its website. These targets apply to U. S. Steel’s global operations.

U. S. Steel plans to achieve its greenhouse gas emissions intensity reduction goals through the execution of multiple initiatives. These include the use of EAF steelmaking technology at U. S. Steel’s Fairfield Works and at Big River Steel, the first LEED-certified steel mill in the United States and the first steel mill in North America to receive ResponsibleSteel™ site certification. EAF steelmaking primarily relies on recycled scrap, rather than iron ore, to produce new steel products, which is a less carbon intensive process and leverages the ability to continuously recycle steel. Further carbon intensity reductions are expected to come from the implementation of ongoing energy efficiency measures, continued use of renewable energy sources and other process improvements to be developed.

The carbon reduction targets reflect our continued commitment to improvement in production efficiency and the manufacture of products that are environmentally friendly. In addition to a commitment to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions intensity, U. S. Steel is committed to helping its customers achieve their environmental goals. Our industry-leading XG3™ advanced high-strength steel enables automakers to manufacture lighter weight vehicles that meet federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards with reduced carbon emissions. As part of our innovation efforts, we continue to look at new steelmaking technologies so that we can produce green steels and further reduce carbon emissions.

Environmental Matters, Litigation and Contingencies

Some of U. S. Steel’s facilities were in operation before 1900. Although the Company believes that its environmental practices have either led the industry or at least been consistent with prevailing industry practices, hazardous materials have been and may continue to be released at current or former operating sites or delivered to sites operated by third parties.

Our U.S. facilities are subject to environmental laws applicable in the U.S., including the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), as well as state and local laws and regulations.

U. S. Steel has incurred and will continue to incur substantial capital, operating and maintenance and remediation expenditures as a result of environmental laws and regulations, related to release of hazardous materials, which in recent years have been mainly for process changes to meet CAA obligations and similar obligations in Europe.

EU Environmental Requirements and Slovak Operations

Phase IV of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) commenced on January 1, 2021, and will finish on December 31, 2030. The European Commission issued final approval of the updated 2021-2025 Slovak National Allocation table in February 2022. Subsequently, the Slovak Ministry of Environment allocated the full amount of 2022 free allowances totaling 6.3 million European Union Emission Allowances (EUA) to USSE in February and April 2022. As of December 31, 2022, we have pre-purchased approximately 2.1 million EUA totaling €147 million (approximately $157 million) to cover the expected 2022 and 2023 shortfall of emission allowances.

The EU's Industrial Emissions Directive requires implementation of EU determined best available techniques (BAT) for Iron and Steel production to reduce environmental impacts as well as compliance with BAT associated emission levels. Total capital expenditures for projects to comply with or go beyond BAT requirements were €138 million (approximately $147 million). These costs were partially offset by the EU funding received and may be mitigated over the next measurement periods if USSK complies with certain financial covenants, which are assessed annually. USSK complied with these covenants as of December 31, 2022. If we are unable to meet these covenants in the future, USSK might be required to provide additional collateral (e.g., bank guarantee) to secure 50 percent of the EU funding received.

For further discussion of laws applicable in Slovakia and the EU and their impact on USSE, see Note 26 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, “Contingencies and Commitments, Environmental Matters, EU Environmental Requirements.”

Minnesota Mining Operations - Water

The State of Minnesota has a sulfate wild rice water quality standard (WQS) set at 10mg/L. This sulfate WQS was established in 1973, since this time industry has been working with the legislature and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to reevaluate the environmental protection and science behind the 10 mg/L standard. In 2011, the legislature passed a law requiring MPCA to revise the sulfate standard. MPCA started the process to revise the rulemaking for the sulfate WQS, but it was never completed. During the interim the Keetac National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued in November 2011 with a sulfate standard of 14 mg/L and a compliance schedule. Then in 2015, the Minnesota legislature passed a law that MPCA could not require businesses to expend funds to comply with the sulfate limit until the rulemaking was revised by MPCA as directed by the legislature in 2011. To date the sulfate WQS rulemaking has not been revised. During this time Minntac has also received a NPDES permit with a sulfate limit and compliance schedule.

Both Minntac and Keetac have been working to determine the best options to address sulfate. One of the options in process is that both sites have submitted and even renewed site-specific standard (SSS) requests to MPCA. The SSS present plans specific to each location and explain the actual impact on sulfate from the facilities. To date MPCA has not taken any action on

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the SSS plans. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (the U.S. EPA) partially rejected the CWA 303(d) list for impaired waters submitted by MPCA for 2021. The MPCA's impaired waters list was in part rejected to add Hay Lake as being impaired for wild rice sulfate. In February 2022, the U.S. EPA Region V sent a letter to MPCA recognizing the conflict between state law and the CWA.

U. S. Steel is continuing to work to determine the most efficient and effective options to meet the sulfate standard. However, if MPCA does not revise the sulfate standard of 10mg/L or approve the SSS it is likely to have an impact on mining operations as it will require extensive changes to water collection and treatment.

New and Emerging Environmental Regulations

United States and European Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations

The Phase IV EU ETS period spans 2021-2030 and began on January 1, 2021.The Phase IV period is divided into two sub periods (2021-2025 and 2026-2030), rules for the first subperiod are finalized, however we expect that rules for the second subperiod may be more stringent than those for the first one. Once approved, the rules may impact subperiod 2026-2030. Currently, the overall EU ETS target is a 40 percent reduction of 1990 emissions by 2030. Free allocation of CO2 allowances is based on reduced benchmark values which have been published in the first quarter of 2021 and historical levels of production from 2014-2018. Allocations to individual installations may be adjusted annually to reflect relevant increases and decreases in production. The threshold for adjustments is set at 15 percent and will be assessed on the basis of a rolling average of two precedent years. Production data verified by an external auditor shows that USSE rolling average for 2020-2021 returned to base limit for hot metal production resulting in increase of the free allocation for 2022 compared to 2021, however 2022 free allocation was still slightly reduced due to missing the 15 percent threshold for sinter production. Additionally, lower production in 2019 through 2021 will have an impact on the future free allocation for 2026-2030, where the historical production average for years 2019-2023 will be assessed. Based on actual production data for 2022, we expect that free allocation for hot metal will remain unchanged for 2023, however allocations for sinter will be lower.

In order to achieve the EU political goal of carbon emissions neutrality by 2050, on July 14, 2021, the European Commission released a package of legislative proposals called Fit for 55. The proposals contain significant changes to current EU ETS functions and requirements, including: a new carbon border adjustment mechanism to impose carbon fees on EU imports, further reduction of free CO2 allowance allocation to heavy industry and measures to strengthen the supply of carbon allowances. The legislative process is being impacted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. The proposals are subject to the EU legislative process, and we cannot predict their future impact.

United States - Air

The CAA imposes stringent limits on air emissions with a federally mandated operating permit program and civil and criminal enforcement sanctions. The CAA requires, among other things, the regulation of hazardous air pollutants through the development and promulgation of National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) and Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) Standards. The U.S. EPA has developed various industry-specific MACT standards pursuant to this requirement. The CAA requires the U.S. EPA to promulgate regulations establishing emission standards for each category of Hazardous Air Pollutants. The U.S. EPA also must conduct risk assessments on each source category that is already subject to MACT standards and determine if additional standards are needed to reduce residual risks.

While our operations are subject to several different categories of NESHAP and MACT standards, the principal impact of these standards on U. S. Steel's operations includes those that are specific to coke making, iron making, steel making and iron ore processing.

On July 13, 2020, the U.S. EPA published a Residual Risk and Technology Review rule for the Integrated Iron and Steel MACT category in the Federal Register. Based on the results of the U.S. EPA’s risk review, the agency determined that risks due to emissions of air toxics from the Integrated Iron and Steel category are acceptable and that the current regulations provided an ample margin of safety to protect public health. Under the technology review, the U.S. EPA determined that there are no developments in practices, processes or control technologies that necessitate revision of the standards. In September 2020, several petitions for review of the rule, including those filed by the Company, the American Iron and Steel Institute (the AISI), Clean Air Council and others, were filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The cases were consolidated and are being held in abeyance until the U.S. EPA reviews and responds to administrative petitions for review. The U.S. EPA is required by court order to issue a final rule by October 26, 2023. Because the U.S. EPA has yet to propose a revised iron and steel rule, any impacts are not estimable at this time.

For the Taconite Iron Ore Processing category, based on the results of the U.S. EPA's risk review, the agency promulgated a final rule on July 28, 2020, in which the U.S. EPA determined that risks from emissions of air toxics from this source category are acceptable and that the existing standards provide an ample margin of safety. Furthermore, under the technology review, the agency identified no cost-effective developments in controls, practices, or processes to achieve further emissions reductions. Petitions for review of the rule were filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in which the Company and the

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AISI intervened. The U.S. EPA is required by court order to issue a final rule by November 16, 2023. Because the U.S. EPA has yet to propose a revised taconite rule, any impacts are not estimable at this time.

The U.S. EPA is in the process of conducting its statutorily obligated residual risk and technology review of coke oven standards. Because the U.S. EPA has not completed its review of the Coke MACT regulations, any impacts related to the U.S. EPA’s review of the coke standards cannot be estimated at this time. The U.S. EPA is under a court-ordered deadline to complete the residual risk and technology rulemaking by May 23, 2024.

In response to Court orders that invalidated prior U.S. EPA determinations regarding ozone attainment interference, on April 6, 2022, the U.S. EPA proposed a Federal Implementation Plan (that would replace several pending or disapproved State Implementation Plans) for Regional Ozone Transport for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard. The proposed rule would affect electric generating units (EGUs) in 26 states and certain non-EGU industries, including, among several others, coke ovens, taconite production kilns, boilers, blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, reheating furnaces, and annealing furnaces in 23 states, including those where U. S. Steel has operations. The impacts of the rule, if promulgated as proposed, could be material. U. S. Steel submitted comments on the proposed rule on June 21, 2022. Based upon the U.S. EPA agreements with non-governmental organizations the rule is likely to be published as final by the U.S. EPA during the first quarter 2023. Once the rule is final, U. S. Steel will further evaluate the potential impacts to operations.

The CAA also requires the U.S. EPA to develop and implement National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria pollutants, which include, among others, particulate matter (PM) - consisting of PM10 and PM2.5, lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone.

In October 2015, the U.S. EPA lowered the NAAQS for ozone from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb. On November 6, 2017, the U.S. EPA designated most areas in which we operate as attainment with the 2015 standard. In a separate ruling, on June 4, 2018, the U.S. EPA designated other areas in which we operate as “marginal nonattainment” with the 2015 ozone standard. On December 6, 2018, the U.S. EPA published a final rule regarding implementation of the 2015 ozone standard. Because no state regulatory or permitting actions to bring the ozone nonattainment areas into attainment have yet to be proposed or developed for U. S. Steel facilities, the operational and financial impact of the ozone NAAQS cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. On December 31, 2020, the U.S. EPA published a final rule pursuant to its statutorily required review of NAAQS that retains the ozone NAAQS at 70 ppb. In January 2021, New York, along with several states and non-governmental organizations filed petitions for judicial review of the action with the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Several other states and industry trade groups intervened in support of the U. S. EPA’s action. The case remains in abeyance before the court until December 15, 2023, as the U.S. EPA voluntarily reconsiders the ozone NAAQS. Because the U.S. EPA has yet to complete its reconsideration and propose a revised ozone NAAQS, any impacts are not estimable at this time.

On December 18, 2020, the U.S. EPA published a final rule pursuant to its statutorily required review of NAAQS that retains the existing PM2.5 standards without revision. In early 2021, several states and non-governmental organizations filed petitions for judicial review of the action with the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Several industry trade groups intervened in support of the U.S. EPA’s action. The case remains in abeyance before the court until March 1, 2023, as the U.S. EPA voluntarily reconsiders the PM2.5 NAAQS. On January 6, 2023, the U.S. EPA proposed to lower the annual PM2.5 NAAQS from the current 12 ug/m3 standard to within the range of 9.0 to 10.0 ug/m3. U. S. Steel is currently reviewing the proposal to determine the impacts and evaluate any need to comment. Because the U.S. EPA has very recently proposed the rule without specificity, any impacts are inestimable at this time.

For calendar year 2022, all Allegheny County ambient air quality monitors met all U.S. EPA health based National Ambient Air Quality Standards for the second consecutive year. On March 16, 2022, the U.S. EPA published a final rule, a clean data determination, showing that Allegheny County has attained the 2012 annual PM2.5 NAAQS based on the 2018 – 2020 ambient air quality data. Based on these and other data, ACHD submitted a Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan to the U.S. EPA requesting that the U.S. EPA redesignate all of Allegheny County in attainment with the current PM2.5 NAAQS.

United States – Water

The U.S. EPA issued the final rule redefining the Waters of the United States (WOTUS), set to become effective March 1, 2023. The definition of WOTUS has had many changes and legal challenges over the last several years. The new WOTUS rule expands the definition of what all waters will be considered to be a waters of the United States. The expansion of the WOTUS definition is likely to lead to additional legal challenges. It is also possible that the ruling in the U. S. Supreme court case Sackett v. EPA would impact the WOTUS definition as it relates to wetlands. The Sackett case was heard by the Court in the Fall 2022 term and decision is expected early in 2023. U. S. Steel will continue to review the final WOTUS definition and its potential impact on the Company.

Environmental Remediation

For further discussion of relevant environmental matters, including environmental remediation obligations, see "Item 3. Legal Proceedings, Environmental Proceedings."

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Property, Plant and Equipment Additions

For property, plant and equipment additions, including finance leases, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” and Note 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Available Information

U. S. Steel’s Internet address is www.ussteel.com. We post our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our proxy statement, our current reports on Form 8-K, amendments to those reports and our interactive data files to our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed, or furnished to, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We also post all press releases and earnings releases to our website.

All other filings with the SEC are available via a direct link on the U. S. Steel website to the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov.

Also available on the U. S. Steel website are U. S. Steel’s Corporate Governance Principles, Code of Ethical Business Conduct and the charters of the Audit Committee, the Compensation & Organization Committee and the Corporate Governance & Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors. These documents and the Annual Report on Form 10-K and proxy statement are also available in print to any stockholder who requests them. Such requests should be sent to the Office of the Corporate Secretary, United States Steel Corporation, 600 Grant Street, Suite 1844, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15219-2800 (telephone: 412-433-1121).

U. S. Steel does not incorporate into this document the contents of any website or the documents referred to in the immediately preceding paragraphs.

Other Information

Information on net sales, depreciation, capital expenditures, earnings (loss) before interest and income taxes and assets by reportable segment and for business in the Other category and on net sales and assets by geographic area are set forth in Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

For significant operating data for U. S. Steel for each of the last five years, see “Five-Year Operating Summary (Unaudited)” within this document.

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

Economic and Market Risk Factors

The changing global economic climate is having adverse impacts on our business, which may create new risks and exacerbate certain other risks set forth below.

Changes in the global economic environment, inflation, rising interest rates, recessions or prolonged periods of slow economic growth, and global instability and actual and threatened geopolitical conflict, could have an adverse effect on our industry and business, as well as those of our customers and suppliers.

Overall economic conditions in the U.S. and globally, including in Europe, including adverse factors such as inflation, rising interest rates, supply chain disruptions and the impacts of the war in Ukraine, significantly impact our business. Periods of economic downturn or continued uncertainty could result in difficulty increasing or maintaining our level of sales or profitability and we may experience an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Our U.S. operations are subject to economic conditions, including credit and capital market conditions, inflation, prevailing interest rates, and political factors, which if changed could negatively affect our results of operations, cash flows and liquidity. Political factors include, but are not limited to, changes to tax laws and regulations resulting in increased income tax liability, increased regulation, such as carbon emissions limitations or trading mechanisms, limitations on exports of energy and raw materials, and trade remedies. Actions taken by the U.S. government could affect our results of operations, cash flows and liquidity.

USSE is subject to economic conditions and political factors associated with the EU, Slovakia and neighboring countries, and the euro currency. Changes in any of these economic conditions or political factors could negatively affect our results of operations, cash flows and liquidity. Political factors include, but are not limited to, taxation, nationalization, inflation, government instability, regional conflict, civil unrest, increased regulation and quotas, tariffs, sanctions and other market-distorting measures. The ongoing war in Ukraine has had a broad range of adverse impacts on global economic conditions, some of which have had and are likely to continue to have adverse impacts on our business, including increased raw material and energy costs, softer

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customer demand and lower steel prices. USSE purchases a significant portion of its iron ore and coal from suppliers based in Ukraine.

Additionally, we are also exposed to risks associated with the business success and creditworthiness of our suppliers and customers. If our customers or suppliers are negatively impacted by a slowdown in economic markets, we may face the reduction, delay or cancellation of customer orders, delays or interruptions of the supply of raw materials, and increased risk of insolvency and other credit related issues of customers or suppliers, which could delay payments from customers, result in increased customer defaults and cause our suppliers to delay filling, or to be unable to fill, our needs at all or on a timely or cost-effective basis. The occurrence of any of these events may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

The steel industry, as well as the industries of our customers and suppliers upon whom we are reliant, is highly cyclical, which may have an adverse effect on our customer demand and results of operations.

Steel consumption is highly cyclical and generally follows economic and industrial conditions both worldwide and in regional markets. Price fluctuations are impacted by the timing, magnitude and duration of these cycles, and are difficult to predict. This volatility makes it difficult to balance the procurement of raw materials and energy with global steel prices, our steel production and customer product demand. U. S. Steel has implemented strategic initiatives to produce more stable and consistent results, even during periods of economic and market downturns, but this may not be enough to mitigate the effect that the volatility inherent in the steel industry has on our results of operations.

Additionally, our business is reliant on certain other industries that are cyclical in nature. We sell to the automotive, service center, converter, energy and appliance and construction-related industries. Some of these industries are highly sensitive to general economic conditions and may also face meaningful fluctuations in demand based on a number of factors outside of our control, including regulatory factors, supply chain disruptions, changing customer demand, economic conditions and raw material and energy costs. As a result, downturns or volatility in any of the markets we serve could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

U. S. Steel has been and continues to be adversely affected by unfairly traded imports and global overcapacity, which may cause downward pricing pressure, lost sales and revenue, market share, decreased production, investment, and profitability.

Currently, global steel production capacity significantly exceeds global steel demand, which adversely affects U.S. and global steel prices. Global overcapacity continues to result in high levels of dumped and subsidized steel imports into the markets we serve. Domestic and international trade laws provide mechanisms to address the injury caused by such imports to domestic industries. Excessive steel imports have resulted and may continue to result in downward pricing pressure and lost sales and revenue, which adversely impacts our business, operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Although U. S. Steel currently benefits from 61 U.S. AD and CVD or anti-subsidy duty orders and 14 EU AD/CVD orders, petitions for trade relief are not always successful or effective. When implemented, such relief is generally subject to periodic reviews and challenges, which can result in revocation of AD/CVD orders or reduction of effective duty rates. There can be no assurance that any relief will be obtained or continued in the future or that such relief will adequately combat unfairly traded imports.

As of the date of this filing, pursuant to a series of Presidential Proclamations issued in accordance with Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, U.S. imports of certain steel products are subject to a 25 percent tariff, except imports from: (1) Argentina, Brazil, and South Korea, which are subject to restrictive quotas; (2) the EU, Japan, and UK that are melted and poured in the EU/Japan/UK, within quarterly TRQ limits; (3) Canada and Mexico, which are not subject to tariffs or quotas, but tariffs could be re-imposed on surging product groups after consultations; (4) Ukraine, which are exempt from tariffs until June 1, 2023; and (5) Australia, which are not subject to tariffs, quotas, or an anti-surge mechanism. The Section 232 national security action on steel imports currently provides U. S. Steel and other domestic steel producers critical relief from imports. With no scheduled end date, the future coverage and duration of the Section 232 action is not known. Further, the U.S. government may negotiate alternatives to the Section 232 tariffs for certain countries, similar to TRQ agreements with the EU, Japan, and the UK.

USTR's review of additional imports tariffs of 7.5 to 25 percent on certain U.S. imports from China, including certain raw materials used in steel production, semi-finished and finished steel products, and downstream steel-intensive products, pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 could change the coverage and levels of such tariffs.

In February 2019, the EC implemented a definitive safeguard on global steel imports in the form of TRQs. The TRQs, which impose 25 percent tariffs on steel imports that exceed the TRQ limit, are currently effective through June 2024. In December 2022, the EC initiated its fourth periodic review of this safeguard, which may result in adjustments to the safeguard TRQ limits.

All of the above factors present a degree of uncertainty to our financial and operational performance, our customers, and overall economic conditions, all of which could impact steel demand and our performance. Faced with significant import competition and

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overcapacity in various markets, we will continue to evaluate potential strategic and organizational opportunities, which may include exiting lines of business and the sale of certain assets, temporary shutdowns or closures of facilities.

Shortages of skilled labor, increased labor costs or our failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel in the future could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our financial results.

We depend on skilled labor for the manufacture of our products. Some of our facilities are located in areas where demand for skilled labor often exceeds supply. Shortages of some types of skilled labor, such as electricians and qualified maintenance technicians, could restrict our ability to maintain or increase production rates, lead to production inefficiencies and increase our labor costs. Our shift to the Best for All strategy will also require a set of job skills that is different from our prior needs. Our continued success depends on the active participation of our key employees. We have recently observed an overall tightening and increasingly competitive labor market. The competitive nature of the labor markets in which we operate, the cyclical nature of the steel industry and our resulting needs for skilled employees increase our risk of not being able to recruit, train and retain the employees we require at efficient costs and on reasonable terms, and could lead to increased costs, such as increased overtime to meet demand and increased wage rates to attract and retain employees. In addition, many companies, including U. S. Steel, have had employee layoffs as a result of reduced business activities during industry downturns. The loss of our key people or our inability to attract new key employees could adversely affect our operations. Additionally, layoffs or other adverse actions could result in an adverse relationship with our workforce or third-party labor providers. If we are unable to recruit, train and retain adequate numbers of qualified employees and third-party labor providers on a timely basis or at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected. Additionally, an overall labor shortage, lack of skilled labor, increased turnover or labor inflation as a result of general macroeconomic factors that affect our customers or suppliers could have a material adverse impact on the company’s operations, results of operations, liquidity or cash flows.

Strategic Risk Factors

Our investments in new technologies and products may not be fully successful.

Execution of our Best for All® strategy depends, in part, on the success of a number of investments we have made and plan to make in new facilities, technologies and products and successfully transitioning our footprint to a lower-cost, carbon and capital intensive model. Our Best for All strategy is centered around expanding our competitive advantages in low-cost iron ore mini mill steelmaking, and best-in-class finishing capabilities. These competitive advantages are built on a foundation of research, innovation and deep customer relationships. We are expanding our low-cost iron ore competitive advantage by investing in ways to translate the advantage to feed our growing EAF footprint. This includes investments in a pig iron caster at the Gary Works facility and DR-grade pellet capabilities in Keetac, Minnesota. We are expanding our mini mill steelmaking capabilities through the construction of a second mini mill facility in Osceola, Arkansas. We are also expanding our best-in-class finishing capabilities through investments in a non-grain oriented electrical steel line and galvanizing construction line at Big River Steel. In executing our strategy, we aim to enhance our earnings profile, deliver long-term cash flow through industry cycles and reduce our cost, capital, and carbon intensity. By offering the product capabilities, including the more sustainable steels (steels made with lower greenhouse gas emissions) our customers are increasingly demanding, we believe that we can achieve more competitive positioning in strategic, high-margin end markets, and deliver high-quality, sustainable, value-added products and innovative solutions.

Construction of our strategic projects is subject to changing market conditions and demand for our completed projects, delays, inflation and cost overruns, work stoppages, labor shortages, engineering issues, weather interferences, supply chain delays, changes required by governmental authorities, delays or the inability to acquire required permits or licenses, changes in the ability to finance the projects or disruption of existing operations, any of which could have an adverse impact on our operational and financial results. Furthermore, new product development or modification is costly, may be restricted by regulatory requirements, involves significant research, development, time, expense and human capital and may not necessarily result in the successful commercialization of new products, customer adoption of new technologies or products or new technologies may not perform as intended or expected. Unsuccessful execution of these strategic projects, underperformance of any of these assets or failure of new products to gain market acceptance could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition and may limit the benefits of our stockholder value creation strategy.

From time to time, we engage in acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures and may encounter difficulties in integrating and separating these businesses and therefore we may not realize the anticipated benefits.

As we pursue our Best for All® strategy, we may seek growth opportunities through strategic acquisitions as well as evaluate our portfolio for potential divestitures to optimize our business footprint and portfolio. The success of these transactions will depend on our ability to integrate or separate, as applicable, assets and personnel in these transactions and to cooperate with our strategic partners. We may encounter difficulties in integrating acquisitions with our operations as well as separating divested businesses, and in managing strategic investments. Furthermore, we may not realize the degree, or timing, of benefits we anticipate when we first enter into a transaction.

Additionally, we seek opportunities to monetize non-core and excess iron assets, including through real estate sales, third party agreements and option agreements. These opportunities may not materialize or generate the financial benefits expected. For

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example, Stelco Inc. holds an option (Option) to acquire an undivided 25 percent interest in a to-be-formed entity that will own the Company’s current iron ore mine located in Mt. Iron, Minnesota. There is a possibility that Stelco may not exercise its Option in the anticipated timeframe or at all. If the proposed joint venture with Stelco is not successful, fails to provide the benefits we expect, or is not created at all, we may in the future have more iron ore than we need to support the business. Additionally, the existence of the Option may deter future potential opportunities to monetize the iron ore assets. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Operational and Commercial Risk Factors

Our operational footprint, unplanned equipment outages and other unforeseen di