More than a year after the section 232 tariffs imposed by the United States government were put in place, the Mexican steel industry continues to face a significant reduction in its exports to that market, although it is seeing signs of recovery driven by support measures for the sector in Mexico.
Sergio de la Maza, president of the National Chamber of the Iron and Steel Industry (Canacero), said that the tariffs have caused a drop of nearly 50% in Mexican steel shipments to that country compared to pre-tax levels.
Although he specified that while exports have begun to recover, the progress has been moderate, with an estimated rebound of between 4 and 6% in volume.
“Our imports fell dramatically, dropping below 50% of what we were sending. And currently they have recovered 4% or 5%, the steel mills in the United States are already at full capacity and we are sending what the American market cannot supply,” he explained.
During a meeting with the media at the Alacero Summit 2026 , he mentioned that the installed capacity of US steel mills is at maximum utilization, so the market continues to require imports to meet its demand.
However, Asian countries, particularly Vietnam, have taken advantage of the situation to increase their share of this market and occupy spaces that were previously supplied by Mexico.
Despite this scenario, the industry remains hopeful that negotiations between the Mexican and U.S. governments will lead to a possible review of the tariffs. While their complete elimination is not necessarily expected, they are confident that tariffs can be reduced to restore conditions for greater access to the U.S. market.
At the same time, industry representatives acknowledged that the actions implemented by the Mexican government have helped stimulate domestic demand for steel, such as the agreement signed in April with the federal government to promote the national market in infrastructure projects, as well as the measures promoted by the Ministry of Economy to strengthen import control mechanisms.
He considered that these actions, added to the projects contemplated within the Mexico Plan, have favored greater domestic demand and a partial recovery of the sector’s activity.
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