MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday announced an agreement to require that all public work projects in the country use steel from Mexican companies.
“The commitment we are making here is that the government’s purchases will be steel produced in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said during her daily morning press conference.
The move comes after US President Donald Trump imposed steep 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum last year on Mexico and other countries.
Mexico has been seeking a deal for the tariffs to be lifted; under one proposal, a specified volume from Mexico could enter duty free or at a reduced rate, and any imports above that level would be charged the full 50 per cent tariff.
But last week US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Mexico’s auto and steel industries they should not expect the renegotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to remove these tariffs on their sectors, as exclusively reported by Reuters.
