Beijing has long used third-party countries to evade tariffs, with Mexico deployed as its latest backdoor into the U.S.
Washington, D.C. — The Biden administration rightly took action on Wednesday to strengthen steel and aluminum requirements for tariff-free trade between the United States and Mexico. The proclamation requires that steel imported into the U.S. from Mexico be “melted and poured” in North America and Mexican aluminum imports be “smelted and cast” not in countries of concern, like China, to qualify for zero tariffs when traded between the two countries under Section 232 relief measures.
“We know Beijing is using countries like Mexico to dodge U.S. tariffs, including duties specifically put into place to deter China’s massive industrial overcapacity,” Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said. “China and other nations must not be allowed to exploit trade with our neighbors in order to avoid U.S. trade enforcement.”
AAM found in a recent report that skyrocketing Chinese overcapacity threatens to capsize America’s steel industry, which is critical to U.S. economic strength and national security. Meanwhile, surging trade from Mexico mirrors a drop in Chinese imports, sounding the alarm that circumvention is at work, another AAM study found.
“Strengthening the ‘melted and poured’ and ‘smelted and cast’ rules for steel and aluminum is a step forward in countering China’s predatory trade practices and making North American steel trade more fair. This is the right call by the Biden administration, and both Congress and the executive branch must continue to find ways to take on China’s increasingly sophisticated trade cheating,” Paul said.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul is available for interview.
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