Steel Mills
Senators Threaten Re-imposing S232 Duties on Mexican Steel
February 21, 2023
Thirteen US senators from both major political parties wrote to top trade officials last week requesting that Section 232 tariffs be reinstated on some Mexican steel products, notably steel conduit.
“In recent months, it has become clear that Mexican steel imports ‘now exceed historic volumes of trade’ and are ‘surg[ing] meaningfully” into our market,” the senators wrote to US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Feb. 14.
The US lifted 25% Section 232 duties on Mexican steel imports in May 2019 ahead of the negotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) going into effect in 2020. But terms of the deal provide a mechanism to prevent “surges” in steel imports. If surges in imports of specific steel and aluminum products occur, the US may reimpose Section 232 tariffs on those products, the senators said.
The senators’ letter targeted imports of Mexican conduit. “Since the US lifted Section 232 tariffs, Mexican steel conduit imports have reached unprecedented levels and Mexico’s penetration of the US conduit market has more than tripled, while demand from US consumers has fallen,” the letter said.
The letter references the loss of 200 jobs in California and the closing of a steel conduit plant there as a result of “unfair” Mexican imports. This refers to a Zekelman Industries plant in Long Beach, Calif., shuttered last October.
In response, Mexican steel industry association Canacero wrote a letter Sunday disputing the senators’ claims. The letter, written in Spanish, states that the Mexican steel industry rejects the “protectionist claims” of the US senators who suggest reimposing Section 232 tariffs.
The group called on Mexican authorities to execute an “objective” analysis of the situation and of the benefits of intraregional trade. The Canacero letter also noted that “protectionist tendencies” will probably be more pronounced in the US as 2024 elections approach.
By Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com
Latest in Steel Mills
Ternium pushes forward with growth projects despite slump in earnings and Mexican market
Ternium S.A. Fourth quarter ended Dec.31 2024 2023 Change Net sales $3,876 $4,931 -21.4% Net income (loss) $333 $554 -39.9% Per diluted share $1.43 $2.11 -32.2% Full year ended Dec.31 Net sales $17,649 $17,610 0.2% Net income (loss) $174 $986 -82.4% Per diluted share $(0.27) $3.44 -108% (in millions of dollars except per share) While […]
Kestenbaum, Ancora state their case in proxy fight for U.S. Steel
Ancora Holdings is moving forward with its proxy fight to oust U.S. Steel’s leadership and install a new board of directors and Alan Kestenbaum as CEO.
BlueScope shelves midstream facility but still upbeat on US
BlueScope Steel is pulling back on its expansion plans in the US for now but remains optimistic about the North American market.
Japanese PM cites ‘unjust political interference’ in Nippon/USS deal: Report
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday that former President Joe Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s buy of U.S. Steel was “unjust political interference,” according to a report in Reuters. This comes after another Reuters report on Friday saying that President Trump would not object to Nippon taking a minority stake in the […]
Trump says Nippon will ‘invest heavily’ in USS rather than buy it
Nippon Steel has agreed to “invest heavily in U.S. Steel as opposed to own it,” President Donald Trump said on Friday during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. U.S. Steel is “a very important company” and was once “the greatest company in the world”. Of potential foreign ownership of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, Trump said, “the concept, psychologically, not good."