Op-Ed: Despite misclassification games, import data supports surge of Mexican conduit

In a recent column, Lewis Leibowitz contends that import data does not support a letter written by four US Senators – Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) – discussing a surge in imports of Mexican steel conduit since President Trump exercised his authority under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to protect US industrial security by imposing a 25% tariff on steel imports. But contrary to Mr. Leibowitz’s contention, the import data unquestionably supports the fact that imports of Mexican conduit have been surging into the US market.

To fully comprehend the current situation with imports of Mexican steel products into the US, we need to look back to 2018 when Section 232 duties were imposed. These were 25% duties on imports of steel products from all countries. Several countries, including South Korea, Brazil, and Australia, negotiated quotas with the US to replace the 25% tariffs. These 232 duties became a key issue in the USMCA negotiations. In a Memo of Understanding, Canada and Mexico agreed to limit steel exports to the US based on the average volume of steel products imported during the period 2015-2017. In return, steel imports into the US from Mexico and Canada would not face the Section 232 duties.