The United States Trade Representative, Katherine Taiwarned Mexico today that its country could reimpose tariffs on imports of Mexican steel and aluminum if the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador does not take urgent measures to stop the continuous increase in these exports to the United States.
Tai met virtually with the Secretary of Economy, Raquel Buenrostro, to express the deep concern of the United States about the increase in steel and aluminum trade between the two countries, which according to Washington violates the spirit of the T-MEC trade agreement.
The US trade representative highlighted that They have been trying to resolve this issue for over a year. through consultations with Mexicobut so far they have not seen concrete actions to stop the increase in Mexican metal exports.
According to Tai, the 2019 Joint Declaration signed by both countries on Section 232 tariffs allows the United States to reactivate those levies if it deems necessary.
This is a clear warning that the White House does not rule out putting 25 percent steel tariffs and 10 percent to aluminum Mexicans if Mexico does not act to comply with the spirit of the T-MEC.
The López Obrador government has defended the increase in steel exports, arguing that they are due to the growth of US demand and the increase in production in Mexico, not to commercial triangulations, as Washington accuses.
However, Tai also questioned the lack of data transparency on the part of Mexico on imports of steel and aluminum from third countries, which makes it difficult to verify whether these metals are actually being diverted to the United States.
In January of this year, Mexico proposed measures to address the increase in Mexican exports of steel and aluminum. Between them, identify the origin of products outside the region and the exchange of information between antidumping agencies. In addition, he highlighted the relevance of resuming the North American Steel Conference.
