Mexico will heighten monitoring of its steel imports as it works to avoid the reinstatement of section 232 tariffs on material exported into the US.
The economy ministry on 15 April said in the Mexican governmental bulletin, the Diario Oficial de la Federacion, that the country will require certificates of origin for imported steel as of 16 April.
Information required for the certificates includes the country of origin, the name of the steelmaker, product specifications, the volume of the shipment in kilograms, the casting number and names and dates involved in the process. The certificate requirement will not extend to imports of steelmaking raw materials — ferrous scrap, pig iron, and iron ore among them.
The move came amid increasing pressure from US lawmakers over the past year that are seeking to reinstate section 232 tariffs on Mexican steel, which they said is causing material harm to the domestic industry.
US lawmakers over the past year have also accused Mexico of triangulating Asian steel into the US, with US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai in July 2023 urging Mexican economy secretary Raquel Buenrostro to more closely monitor imports of steel and aluminum.
Mexico imported 12.5mn t of finished steel in 2023, up by 21pc from 2022, according to Mexican steel association Canacero. Of that, 15pc —1.9mn t — were from South Korea and another 15pc — 1.86mn t — were from Japan. South Korea, Japan and China were after only the US as steel-sourcing countries and volumes from each rose by 4pc, 40pc and 50pc, respectively, in the same period.
Mexican exports of steel to the US fell by 27.5pc on the year to 2.6mn t in 2023.
Despite the lowered import volumes from Mexico, a bipartisan group led by US Senators Sherrod Brown and Tom Cotton in March introduced the Stop Mexico's Steel Surge Act, which would rescind the section 232 exemption that was granted to Mexico by former president Donald Trump in 2018 and reinstate 25pc tariffs "for at least a year".
The group led by Brown in February 2023 sent an open letter to the administration of President Joe Biden asking it to "stem the unsustainable surge" of Mexican steel. Canacero replied that the claims were "protectionist" and urged the US to consider the flood of imports to North America from Asian countries.
Canacero, also in December, warned the US of "dishonest trade from Asian countries" damaging both economies and said that Mexico should be concerned about an influx of US-origin material. The Mexican government is publicly considering raising tariffs on imported steel and has said it is willing to retaliate if section 232 tariffs are reinstated.
