The accusations of an alleged triangulation for steel marketing by Mexico toward USA They are only due to political pressure on the eve of the presidential elections, said Raquel Buenrostro, head of the Ministry of Economy (SE).
“It is a pressure from the congressmen (Americans) due to the electoral process and as November approaches, the pressures will increase. Nor to Mexico and it is in the interest of the United States to impose tariffs,” the official said at a press conference.
Buenrostro Sánchez stated that if USA impose tariffs on the industry steelMexico would have to respond in the same way and that will eventually affect companies and their value chains.
“Legally, it is also up to us to impose tariffs on them, on certain products so that they have the same impact, that is why I tell them that it is not convenient for us, because with an application like this it is up to us to act in reciprocity,” said the head of the SE.
In mid-February, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) accused a lack of transparency on the part of Mexico for the commercialization of steel from third countries.
In a statement issued on February 16, the USTR headed by Katherine Tai He recalled that due to a joint declaration made since 2019, the United States has the possibility of reimposing tariffs on steel products.
“Although it is politically convenient for them to impose a tariff, it would last the same as last time, a few months. In the talks we have had, the concern is with certain tariff fractions, but there are no large companies in the United States that work in this branch,” Buenrostro Sánchez stressed.
The Mexican official recalled that according to the National Chamber of the Iron and Steel Industry (Canacero), in 2023 Mexico had a market share of 2.5 percent in the steel industry of USA.
For its part, USA concentrated around 14 percent in the mexican steel industry.
Likewise, he ruled out that there is a lack of information or transparency on the part of Mexico, since for the import of steel-based products, data on their country of melting or casting must also be included.
Mexico reviews imposition of tariffs on 600 products
Regardless of the talks with the United States, the head of the SE explained that Mexico is analyzing the imposition of tariffs on approximately 600 products of Asian origin dumpingwhich is when a foreign company introduces a product to a country below the national market price.
Of the 600 tariff items that the agency is reviewing, at least 205 correspond to the steel industry and aluminumwhile the rest concentrate on the iTextile, footwear, plastics, glass industriesamong other.
“We have the statistics and we see where there may be a problem, so we summon the companies in the sector and they provide us with the information we need to put together the file,” said Buenrostro Sánchez.
According to the head of the agency, it is not an easy job because many of the supposedly affected companies are SMEs and not all of its production is in the formal market, which makes it impossible to ability to measure its total effects.