Price on Trade: Changes to USMCA needed to support American steelmaking

Editor’s note: This is an opinion column. The views in this article are those of experienced trade attorneys on issues of relevance to the current steel market. They do not necessarily reflect those of SMU. We welcome you to share your thoughts as well at info@steelmarketupdate.com.

Starting July 1, 2026, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will formally begin its joint review process. As those negotiations approach, there has been a lot of chatter from the Canadian and Mexican steel sectors about the need for a unified North American steel market. In particular, the Canadian and Mexican industries are angling for a renegotiated USMCA that removes Section 232 duties on steel imports from Canada and Mexico into the United States. It is clear to us why Canadian and Mexican steel producers would want to be excluded from Section 232, as Canada and Mexico benefited greatly from their prior exclusion from these duties. It is also clear that any agreement to once again exclude Canadian and Mexican steel imports from the Section 232 program would be damaging for the American steel industry.

Alan Price

Price has more than 30 years of experience representing clients in high-profile, complex international trade regulatory matters, including trade litigation involving public and government relations issues. In addition to being chair of the firm’s International Trade Practice, he heads the firm’s antidumping and countervailing duty practice. He also counsels clients on bilateral and multilateral agreements, trade legislation, customs regulation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance issues, escape clause investigations, and World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution.

Ted Brackemyre

Brackemyre represents clients in a variety of international trade matters, including antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings, export controls compliance programs, and issues related to international trade and climate policy. He practices primarily before the US Department of Commerce, the US International Trade Commission, the US Court of International Trade, and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Brackemyre has represented clients in a broad range of industries, including leading US technology companies and US manufacturers of steel, wood, and consumer products.