Trade Cases
AISI: USMCA can handle US, Mexico trade dust-up
Written by Ethan Bernard
May 17, 2024
The USMCA should be strong enough to handle steel trade disagreements between the US and Mexico, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI’s) Kevin Dempsey.
“I think the basic structure set up in the USMCA is a good one,” Dempsey, AISI president and CEO, said at a press conference during AISI’s annual general meeting in Washington on Tuesday.
“Of course, it requires continued cooperation,” he added.
Recall that the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement of 2019 removed Section 232 tariffs from Canada and Mexico. Tensions have increased as US industry and politicians have complained of a “surge” of Mexican steel imports.
The “Stop Mexico’s Steel Surge Act” was introduced into both Houses of Congress in March and seeks to reimpose Section 232 tariffs. Mexico has vowed to retaliate if such measures go through.
Dempsey noted that another current issue with Mexico is its import data. Where the steel comes from when it arrives to Mexico is not all made publicly available. Therefore, when that steel arrives in the US, it’s not clear how much of it is Mexican steel vs. steel from an unknown third country.
“So we need full cooperation with Mexico to allow all the mechanisms in the USMCA to be fully effective,” he said.
“We did add new provisions to incentivize increased customs cooperation between the three governments to address these types of trends,” he noted.
“We’re hoping that there will be a meeting of the North American steel trade committee later in June in Washington that will bring together the three North American steel industries and their government agencies,” Dempsey added.
Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Trade Cases
Price on trade: What a difference a year makes!
As everyone surely knows by now, the SMU Steel Summit starts on Monday in Atlanta, Ga. So, this is a great opportunity to reflect on how much has changed since the 2024 Summit. Certainly, no one could have imagined the wholesale and transformative changes to U.S. and global trade policy.
Canadian steelmakers call for protection after US adds derivatives to S232
The Canadian Steel Producers Association expressed dismay upon the news that the Trump administration had added over 400 products to the list of derivative products covered by the 50% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.
China opens WTO dispute with Canada over steel, aluminum
China has requested dispute consultations with Canada at the WTO about Canadian measures on Chinese steel and aluminum imports.
Inclusion requests result in 400+ additions to S232’s derivatives list
The Commerce Department has added over 400 HTS codes to the list of steel and aluminum derivative products covered under the Section 232 tariffs.
Leibowitz on Trade: The New World Orders
The question of the new world order was on many minds last week when I spoke on another SMU Community Chat. The short answer is that nobody knows in detail what the effects of all the economic and geopolitical developments will be.