Another tariff threat from U.S. President Donald Trump has been fulfilled; this time, it targeted all steel and aluminum imports from the United States, which will affect this sector in Mexico and various related industries that use these materials in the manufacture of their products, such as the automotive industry.
This Wednesday, March 12, Trump implemented the 25% tax on steel and aluminum, a warning he had signed through executive orders on February 10, “without exceptions or exemptions,” as the president of our northern neighbor quoted him as saying that day.
It’s worth remembering that in 2018, Trump, during his first term as president of the United States, imposed tariffs of 25% and 10% on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, Canada, and the European Union.
At the time, Mexico responded in kind, but on several U.S. products, including pork, potatoes, cranberries, whiskey, and construction materials, with tariffs ranging from 15% to 25% . Ultimately, Mexico and its northern neighbor reached an agreement to eliminate the measure in 2019.
This year, Trump plans to implement this measure again to boost the US steel industry and create jobs at home.
Following the announcement, Marcelo Ebrard , head of Mexico’s Ministry of Economy , called the measure a “bad and unjustifiable idea,” since the United States exports more to the country than it imports.
At his morning press conference on February 11, Ebrard pointed out that Mexico buys more steel from Mexico than it sells to the United States, allowing Mexico to have a surplus of $6.897 billion , while the balance with other countries is negative.
“We have a surplus. If it were to be imposed starting March 12, it would be a very unusual case because it would be imposing a tariff on a country to which the United States sells the most,” the federal official explained.
In January, the National Chamber of the Iron and Steel Industry (Canacero) had already indicated that steel exports from Mexico did not represent a threat to the United States.
He also argued that it was unfounded to claim that Mexican exports were causing plant closures or layoffs in the United States, as the U.S. steel industry had repeatedly stated.
He explained that while Mexico’s northern neighbor accounted for 16.1% of the market in 2024, the country represented only 2.2% of the market in the United States.
In a subsequent statement, Canacero rejected the imposition of 25% tariffs on steel imports by the United States and called on the Mexican government to “take urgent trade defense measures to protect the national industry.”
“The tariffs threaten 75% of Mexican steel exports, valued at $2.1 billion, putting key jobs and investments in our country at risk,” the agency added.
He reported that the steel trade balance between the United States and Mexico reflected a surplus of 2.3 million tons in favor of the United States at the end of 2024, “so there is no justification for imposing tariffs on Mexican steel.”
According to experts, one of the Mexican industries that would be most affected would be the automotive industry. In this regard, the National Association of Bus, Truck, and Tractor-Trailer Producers (ANPACT) indicated that the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports by the United States into Mexico could have a “significant impact” on the production costs of heavy vehicles and, consequently, affect competitiveness.
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) , 629,435 units were manufactured in Mexico in the period January-February 2025 , which represented an increase of 0.4% compared to the same period in 2024, which shows the importance of this sector for the country.
For its part, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) highlighted the implications of the United States imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum, which would affect 4.7% of total Mexican exports and also impact the value of imports by the United States from Mexico, estimated at more than $22.5 billion . The organization also identified severe consequences for the national automotive industry .
According to an analysis of the executive orders signed by Donald Trump on the tariff measure, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (IMCO) stated that this could have repercussions in Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Morelos, Nuevo León, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas, states where the automotive sector is one of the economic pillars.
Mexico has sought to halt tariffs on steel and aluminum through dialogue and negotiation, and a team led by Ebrard has held meetings with its U.S. counterparts.
Although there is evidence to suggest that Trump will extend the 25% tariff on these products again, as occurred on March 6, when he announced that he had reached an agreement with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to exempt products included in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from the 25% tariffs until April 2, this will depend on the understanding between officials from both countries.
It’s worth remembering that Trump has repeatedly stated that the “nicest” word in the dictionary is “tariff.” As recently as March 11, he said that this measure imposed by his administration is having positive effects on the U.S. economy, despite growing concerns about a possible economic slowdown and recent stumbles in the stock markets. Under this scenario, a possible pause in the steel and aluminum tariffs would also be subject to the U.S. president’s mood.
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