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The United States plans to impose national security tariffs on some steel and aluminum imports from Mexico to stop the metals from China from crossing the southern border into the United States.
The White House said a 25% tariff would apply to all steel entering the United States from Mexico that is not melted or cast in North America, and a 10% tariff would be imposed on aluminum originating from Mexico, including aluminum that has been primarily refined in China, Belarus, Iran and Russia.
The move follows a series of increased tariffs on Chinese goods and is an attempt by the Biden administration to consolidate support in the former manufacturing heartland after losing ground to Republican rival Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election.
“Chinese steel and aluminum flowing into the U.S. market through Mexico is evading tariffs, undermining American investment and hurting American workers in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio,” said Lael Brainard, an economic adviser to Biden.
Biden also took steps earlier this year to protect U.S. Steel from a takeover by the Japanese company Nippon Steel Corp., a move he positioned as an ally of American steelworkers. U.S. Steel is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.
The United States already imposes 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China after the Biden administration tripled tariffs on those imports in May, but the new tariffs apply to goods entering the United States through Mexican ports.
The White House said the move was being taken jointly with Mexico, which will require its importers to provide more information about the country of origin of steel products.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the move was “good news” for steel and aluminum workers in the United States and Mexico.
U.S. officials said the new tariffs would affect about 3.8 million tonnes of steel the United States imports from Mexico, of which only 13 percent is melted or cast outside North America.
As for aluminum, the tariffs will apply to only 6% of the 105,000 tonnes of aluminum imported from Mexico.
Brainard said China was “producing more steel than China or the world could easily absorb” and that subsidies were leading to an “export surge” and “artificially low prices.”
The Biden administration announced a series of new tariffs targeting Chinese clean tech imports in May, including quadrupling taxes on electric vehicle imports to 100%, doubling taxes on solar cells to 50% and doubling tariffs on Chinese-made semiconductors starting in 2025.
