Mexican govt. under pressure to rid laws of tariff loopholes
Mexican producers and steel firm executives are urging the government to get rid of tariff loopholes they say will cause injury to their domestic steel market. The Mexican government followed the trend of many other countries in March by implementing tariffs of 35% on steel imports. This was a raise of 10% from the previous 25%, in response to widespread global tariffs since the Section 201 ruling took effect. The tariffs only apply to countries where Mexico does not have a free-trade agreement. Meanwhile, producers claim that current regulations have so many loopholes that the likelihood of damage to the domestic industry is quite high. The biggest problem for Mexican steelmakers is that they haven't been able to raise prices on a comparable scale with the U.S. since low-priced steel was being dumped on their market.