USA president Joe Biden has issued an order to impose Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium products shipped from Mexico but manufactured outside North America.
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 states that steel and derivative products must be made from steel melted and poured within the USA, Mexico and Canada to avoid tariffs, which sit at 25 percent.
Similarly, aluminium and its derivative products must not contain aluminium smelted or most recently cast in China, Russia, Belarus, or Iran. Those that are will be subject to a 10 percent tariff.
Products from Mexico made with aluminium or aluminium derivative products from all other countries will still be exempt from the Section 232 tariffs.
Imports of steel and aluminium and their derivative products must provide US Customs and Border Protection with the information necessary to identify the countries where the steel was melted and poured or where the aluminium was smelted and cast. Likewise, they will have to provide a certificate of analysis identifying the countries of production to qualify for an exception.
Mexico now requires importers of steel to list the country of melt and pour on mill test certificates for all imports into Mexico and increased tariffs on imports of steel products from countries that it does not have a free trade agreement with.
The proclamations came into effect on July 10, 2024.
