The significant growth in steel imports to Mexico in 2012 was the highest in history, with some months registering volumes close to 1 million tons.
According with data from Mexico's National Chamber of Iron and Steel Industry (CANACERO), from 2009 to 2011, imports maintained a proportion of 39 percent to the average domestic steel production; in 2012 this rose to 53 percent, with a high point from January to July, when imports reached 59 percent. This was because tariff rates disappeared for the first seven months of 2012.
Various efforts to reverse this situation were made by the industrial sector and in August, with the partial reinstatement of tariffs, there was a decline in imports, placing them on average 46 percent for last five months of the year.
While these data apply to business transactions conducted in the traditional manner, recent studies by CANACERO have identified a substantial increase in imports for Promotion Programs Sector under the so-called Rule 8th, a mechanism companies use to enter duty free products that are not even used for the development of their productive activity.