Faced with attempts by US congressmen to reestablish 25 percent tariffs on imported Mexican steel, steelmakers in Mexico asked the Mexican government to establish a clear strategy regarding the first review of the Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada (USMCA) in 2026, published the Reforma newspaper.
“It is essential to have it before entering into the review of the USMCA. It must be seen as a whole. We are a region, the political part must be removed, having the aligned interests of the industry to see what is best for Mexico and the United States,” said Guillermo Voguel, current vice president and former president of the National Chamber of the Iron and Steel Industry (Canacero), to Mexican newspaper Reforma.
He said that there must now be a strategy to reliably confirm that Mexico is part of China's steel triangulation with its final destination to the United States, as US congressmen claim.
Voguel, president of the board of directors of Grupo Collado, one of the largest steel processors and marketers in Mexico, said that in the United States there is a narrative that Mexico should not become the back door for Chinese investments or products to enter. to the US market. He narrates that it is very easy to politicize the United States electoral process.
While United States congressmen, from both chambers and both political parties, accuse Mexico of allowing the triangulation of Chinese steel for the US market, the Mexican government, through the Ministry of Economy, executes some measures to demonstrate the opposite.
Last July, three years passed since the USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and it will be in July 2026 when each country will decide whether to maintain or abandon its participation in the trade agreement.
Ahead of this review, trade authorities from Mexico and the United States have held working meetings between the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Mexican Ministry of Economy.