Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday described the latest U.S. tariff hikes on steel and aluminum imports, which doubled from 25 percent to 50 percent, as "unfair," "unsustainable," and lacking "legal basis."
At her daily morning press conference, Sheinbaum said the measure, which applies to all countries except the United Kingdom, is unfair to Mexico because "Mexico imports more steel and aluminum than it exports."
Usually, "a tariff is imposed when there is a deficit," said Sheinbaum, but "we import more steel" so it is "unfair."
She also noted that the unilateral decision by the United States to increase tariffs violates the legal framework of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), saying that the tariff "has no legal basis."
She announced she would meet with steel and aluminum industry leaders later in the day to present strategies, and the Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard has been preparing negotiations with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick this Friday in anticipation of an agreement.
If the negotiations failed to yield a resolution, the Mexican president added that her country would roll out some measures to guarantee the protection of the steel and aluminum industries as well as the jobs they have created.
She also warned that the U.S. tariffs would inevitably drive up the cost of steel and aluminum products and potentially disrupt the integrated supply chain between the two countries, as she urged the United States to reconsider its tariff policy.
The United States has justified its decision to raise import tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent under Section 232 of its trade law.
However, Moises Zavaleta, a former member of Mexico's negotiation team during the 2018 USMCA talks, said that within the agreement's framework, Mexico had already secured parallel provisions.
Zavaleta, who is now the partner and the strategy director of the Ansley International Consultants, a Mexico City-based consulting firm, explained that if the United States intended to impose tariffs under Section 232, it was obligated to engage in prior negotiations. The U.S.failure to do so in this instance, he noted, means the United States has violated the agreement.
He then said even if the United States breached the agreement, Mexico has continued to prioritize resolving the issue through negotiation under the USMCA.
"[According to the USMCA], if the two sides fail to reach an understanding, there may be room to take certain protective measures to balance the situation. Therefore, up to this point, Mexico has remained very cautious in handling this issue," said Zavaleta.
Mexican president says US tariffs on steel, aluminum 'unfair'
