The Canadian government took US Steel Corp to court on Friday, accusing it of breaking commitments to maintain production at Stelco Inc, made when US Steel took over Hamilton, Ontario-based Stelco in 2007.

Tony Clement, industry minister, said in a statement on Friday that as part of the agreement to grant regulatory approval for the $1.1bn takeover, US Steel “committed to a series of undertakings regarding, among others, capital expenditures, research and development, and production”.