Posted on 26 Feb 2019
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the national iron and steel industry association (Canacero) have agreed to renew the safeguards on imported steel to help domestic industry. These tariffs – applied to countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico – expired on 31 January, Kallanish notes.
Canacero has recommended Obrador also apply reciprocal measures on US-origin steel imports. The association and the President held a meeting on 22 February.
"The President fully understood the risk for the steel sector and ordered the Secretary of Economy, Graciela Márquez, to renew the safeguard measure in the next days," says Canacero.
The Mexican Ministry of Economy, on the other hand, says in note that “…during the meeting there have been discussed different alternatives to support the national steel industry, without ignoring the domestic market, productive chains, competitiveness and Mexican consumers."
The tariffs were imposed as a temporary measure in 2015 to protect the local steel industry from increasing imports, mainly from Asia and Turkey. Since then, the safeguards have been renewed on a six-month basis. The latest tariffs were of 15% on imports of hot rolled coil, cold rolled coil and wire rod.
