Mexico has extended anti-dumping duties on imports of steel pipes from the US

The Mexican Ministry of Economy has decided to extend anti-dumping duties on imports of welded carbon steel pipes manufactured in the US for a further five years. This was reported by Reuters, citing the country’s official government gazette.

Having analysed the market situation, the ministry concluded that lifting these restrictions would, in all likelihood, lead to a resumption of dumping by US suppliers, which would cause serious harm to Mexico’s domestic industry.

It is worth noting that these protective duties were first introduced back in 2005. Since then, the government has regularly reviewed the restrictive measures every five years and has consistently extended them to protect local producers.

In April, the Mexican Ministry of Economy launched a review of the appropriateness of extending anti-dumping duties on imports of certain types of welded pipes originating in the US and India with an external diameter exceeding 406.4 mm, which are used primarily in the oil and gas sector. The review was triggered by a complaint from the Mexican company Tubacero. The local producer emphasised that the removal of the duties would have a negative impact on the country’s domestic production.

These countervailing measures came into force in April 2016. Currently, the applicable rate for the US is $575.01 per tonne for imports of welded line pipes manufactured by Stupp, as well as other American suppliers.

As reported by GMK Center, Mexico will require the use of only locally produced steel in public sector projects. This decision is in response to the US imposing 50% tariffs and will help reduce the country’s economic dependence.