Mexican steel association Canacero has defended the local industry regarding the trade dispute between the US and Mexico, exacerbated by the Trump administration’s strong intention to implement protective measures in the near future.
Canacero stated that the Mexican steel industry faces a critical challenge due to the significant increase in exports of finished steel products from the United States and that the recent warnings made by the US government against Mexican exports do not reflect the truth at all. As SteelOrbis previously reported, between 2015 and 2023 bilateral trade in finished steel products reflected an average annual surplus of 1.2 million tons in favor of the United States. In 2024, this surplus doubled and Mexico’s exports to the US recorded a two percent decrease while the US increased its exports to Mexico by 21.0 percent. On the other hand, according to data from the Ministry of Economy, between January and November 2024 Chinese-origin steel exports to Mexico were just 580 tons, representing 0.02 percent of the total, which disproves the accusations that Mexico serves as a bridge from China for the triangulation of Asian steel to the US.
While Mexico has consistently supported regionalization and integration under the USMCA, the current landscape shows that the Mexican steel industry is at a disadvantage. In 2024, the United States captured 15.9 percent of the Mexican market, while Mexican steel exports accounted for just 2.2 percent of the US market. Having adopted necessary measures to protect the region from unfair practices by countries without trade agreements, Canacero reaffirmed that the USMCA and regional integration are the best tool to confront China's unfair trade, including evasion practices, export subsidies received by its industry, excess capacity of Chinese steel, customs fraud and others.