Approximately 3.8 million tons of steel entered the U.S. from Mexico in 2023. While 87% of that was melted and poured in the U.S., Mexico, or Canada, the remaining 13% originated overseas. Levies are deemed necessary to cover Beijing’s steel production outside its borders, an official said.
“The Chinese ship steel from all over the world,” the official told reporters. “There are Chinese companies operating elsewhere, so it is coming in from a number of countries, not just China.”
Trade volumes for aluminum are much smaller, with just 6% of the 105,000 tons of aluminum entering the U.S. from Mexico last year smelted and cast outside North America, according to the White House.
The White House also announced in May that the maximum duties on Chinese steel and aluminum products imposed in response to unfair trade practices will increase from 7.5% to 25% by Aug. 1.
China, which exported over $70 billion worth of steel last year, has continued producing more steel than it can use domestically through highly polluting processes despite U.S. calls to rein in its excess capacity, officials said.
