Latin American steelmakers call for coordinated trade defense

The Latin American steel industry is calling for coordinated action on trade defenses against steel imports. This is reported by BNamericas.

Ezequiel Tavernelli, Executive Director of the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero), said during a speech at the event that the region is one of the most affected by Chinese steel imports.

According to him, Latin America has taken the fewest protective measures in the last 25 years, and this has affected the entire value chain in the industry.

According to Tavernelli, the region needs more trade defense measures, faster and coordinated across the region. In Latin America, the average time to implement such measures is 18 to 28 months, while in developed countries it is 12-14 months, and in some exceptional cases, such as the United States, it is 8-10 months.

Alacero’s executive director also noted that Latin America is going through a serious process of deindustrialization. Over the past quarter century, the region has lost an average of 4 percentage points of industrial GDP, and exports of industrial products have fallen by 5 percentage points of total exports. In his opinion, it is necessary to integrate and work as a regional value chain.

The President of the Mexican Chamber of Steel (Canacero), Victor Cairo, told the press that it is extremely important to close Mexico’s borders to steel products from China and Southeast Asia at subsidized prices, El Economista reports.

The organization called on the Mexican federal authorities to impose higher tariffs and prevent steel triangulation, as well as to act in accordance with Article 29 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on national security. It was also proposed to take other measures, such as changing temporary import systems.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Mexico is stepping up its fight against illegal steel imports. In addition, the country will stimulate domestic production of steel products amid US tariffs.