The Biden administration announced that the United States and Mexico are working together to prevent China from flooding the steel and aluminum markets.
According to the White House fact sheet:
As long as the playing field is fair, American workers and businesses—including those in the steel and aluminum industries—can outcompete anyone. But the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) non-market policies and practices are fundamentally unfair and have contributed to a global crisis of non-market overcapacity, posing an existential threat to our market-driven steel and aluminum industries. Through its impact on imports, global non-market excess capacity threatens U.S. national security, including by eroding U.S. steel and aluminum manufacturing capabilities.
The actions announced today by the United States and Mexico will prevent China and other countries from evading tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Mexico into the United States and help address the global problem of non-market overcapacity. These measures will also stimulate the production of key inputs for downstream manufacturing industries such as North American steel and aluminum, further strengthening the integration of North American industrial supply chains.
Today, the United States and Mexico announced important joint actions to prevent steel and aluminum tax evasion and strengthen North American steel and aluminum supply chains.
• The United States will impose melting and pouring and smelting and casting requirements on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, respectively.
Under these requirements, in order to enter the United States exempt from Section 232 tariffs, steel imported from Mexico must be melted and poured in Mexico, the United States, or Canada, while aluminum imported from Mexico must not contain primary aluminum smelt or be cast in Belarus, China, Iran, or Russia.
• These U.S. actions add to Mexico’s recent move to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum from non-FTA countries.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, “Today’s announcement is important to the U.S. and Mexican steel and aluminum industries, the communities they support, and, most importantly, our steel and aluminum industries. That’s good news” for steel and aluminum workers. These joint actions with Mexico will help ensure the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum industries and the integrity of the integrated North American steel and aluminum markets. This action repairs holes left unaddressed by the previous administration and its go-it-alone trade policies and demonstrates that when we act together, we will strengthen our position to protect American workers and businesses from global non-marketplace threats from China. The impact of excess capacity. We recognize this important step that Mexico has taken to work together to develop resilient trade policies that put workers at the center.
Trump trumpeted a tough stance on China, but it was Joe Biden who actually took action to hold China accountable and protect American jobs.
