Trade Cases
AISI: USMCA can handle US, Mexico trade dust-up
Written by Ethan Bernard
May 17, 2024
The USMCA should be strong enough to handle steel trade disagreements between the US and Mexico, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI’s) Kevin Dempsey.
“I think the basic structure set up in the USMCA is a good one,” Dempsey, AISI president and CEO, said at a press conference during AISI’s annual general meeting in Washington on Tuesday.
“Of course, it requires continued cooperation,” he added.
Recall that the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement of 2019 removed Section 232 tariffs from Canada and Mexico. Tensions have increased as US industry and politicians have complained of a “surge” of Mexican steel imports.
The “Stop Mexico’s Steel Surge Act” was introduced into both Houses of Congress in March and seeks to reimpose Section 232 tariffs. Mexico has vowed to retaliate if such measures go through.
Dempsey noted that another current issue with Mexico is its import data. Where the steel comes from when it arrives to Mexico is not all made publicly available. Therefore, when that steel arrives in the US, it’s not clear how much of it is Mexican steel vs. steel from an unknown third country.
“So we need full cooperation with Mexico to allow all the mechanisms in the USMCA to be fully effective,” he said.
“We did add new provisions to incentivize increased customs cooperation between the three governments to address these types of trends,” he noted.
“We’re hoping that there will be a meeting of the North American steel trade committee later in June in Washington that will bring together the three North American steel industries and their government agencies,” Dempsey added.
Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Trade Cases
Leibowitz on trade: Why is protectionism so popular?
The world has had a few shocks recently. The CEO of a major health insurance company was gunned down in Manhattan. The 50-year Assad dynasty in Syria was pushed out less than two weeks after rebels started an offensive. And President-elect Trump is promising tariffs on everything a month before he takes office. But one shock has been taking place for a lot longer than the last few weeks. The 70-year consensus on trade hasn’t just been challenged. It’s been repudiated.
Ternium chief say Mexico tariffs ‘irrational’
Vedoya said the proposed tariffs are "an irrational measure that would harm both their own industry and ours."
Price on Trade: Trump tariffs are no negotiating tool – and could come at lightning speed
We focused on trade actions the second Trump administration might take in a prior column. Since then, we have learned more about the individuals who will be leading these efforts. Recent nominations reinforce the president-elect’s statements that tariffs will feature prominently in the second administration and that trade actions will be unveiled at lightning speed.
Leibowitz on Trade: More tariffs on steel, aluminum could cost consumers a lot
Transition to a new administration is always uncertain. This one is more uncertain than most.
U.S. Steel says OCTG duty adjustment is too low
A newly adjusted anti-dumping duty on imports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Argentina is too low, according to U.S. Steel. This past week, the Department of Commerce released the preliminary results of annual AD duty order reviews on OCTG from both Argentina and Mexico. It is reviewing imports during the one-year period that […]