In light of the 25% tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminum imports that will take effect this Wednesday, which will affect this sector in Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum said she will wait until April 2 to decide whether her administration will apply reciprocal tariffs to the United States on these products.
“What we’re going to do, in addition to meeting with steel and aluminum manufacturers in our country, is wait until April 2nd to see if we also need to take any actions within the same framework of reciprocity, just as the United States government is doing,” he said.
At Wednesday’s morning press conference, Sheinbaum said that Marcelo Ebrard , head of the Ministry of Economy , met with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on March 11 to discuss the issue.
The president assured that meetings between officials from both countries will continue between now and April 2, “also waiting to see how things turn out and working with Mexican companies.”
“April 2nd, apart from the date we agreed on in the phone call, is the day the United States government announced there would be a reciprocal tariff system for all countries in the world,” the president commented.
In turn, Ebrard announced through his X account that they will give more details on the issue of steel and aluminum in the morning conference on March 13 , and noted that “Mexico will move forward.”
This Wednesday, March 12, U.S. President Donald Trump implemented 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, executive orders he signed on February 10 “without exceptions or exemptions.”
Trump has stated that this measure is intended to boost the steel industry and create jobs within the United States; however, Marcelo Ebrard has pointed out that Mexico buys more steel from him than it sells to the United States, allowing Mexico to have a surplus of $6.897 billion .
According to the National Chamber of the Iron and Steel Industry (Canacero) , in 2024 the United States accounted for 16.1% of the market in Mexico, while the country represented only 2.2% of the market in the United States.
In a statement, the agency reported that the steel trade balance between the United States and Mexico reflected a surplus of 2.3 million tons in favor of Mexico at the end of 2024, “so there is no justification for imposing tariffs on Mexican steel.”
Meanwhile, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) highlighted the implications of imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum by the United States, which would affect 4.7% of total Mexican exports and would also impact the value of imports by the United States from Mexico, estimated at more than $22.5 billion .
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