Sen. Brown Calls Out Mexican Steel Surge

Wednesday Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), United Steelworkers leadership and Cleveland Cliffs leadership called on the administration to act to stop the surge in Mexican steel imports, which has been attributed to the Chinese government routing steel through Mexico to avoid U.S. tariffs.

"The Mexican government is currently violating a 2019 agreement with the U.S. and threatening steelworkers in Ohio and around the country," according to a statement.

Brown renewed his calls on the Administration in a letter he sent Wednesday urging the Administration to address the surge with Mexican President elect Sheinbaum’s cabinet. Brown highlighted that Mexican imports of Chinese steel and iron products doubled between 2015 and 2023. This surge of steel – including Chinese steel – entering the U.S. is unsustainable and a threat to American jobs, as well as our economy and national security.

“We must pass our bipartisan legislation to reinstate tariffs on Mexican steel. I will keep pushing the President to take action to force Mexico to stem its steel surge now, and raising the alarm about the alarming rise in Chinese still coming into the country through Mexico,” said Sen. Brown.

“When the U.S. exempted Mexico from the Section 232 steel tariffs, Mexico agreed not to exceed historic volumes of steel exports into the U.S. In blatant disregard for this commitment, Mexico continues to surge massive volumes of steel into the U.S. market," said Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President & CEO of Cleveland Cliffs Inc.

"For example, Mexico is on pace to ship more than three times its historic volume of corrosion-resistant steel to the United States in 2024.

"To make matters worse, Mexico has become a global hub for trade circumvention and is abusing its favored trade status with the United States to facilitate tariff evasion by China and other nations," continued Mr. Goncalves.

Last August, Mexico’s Grupo Simek announced plans to close Republic Steel plants in Canton, Ohio, and Lackawanna, New York, while moving significant quantities of that production to Mexico. According to Sen. Brown's office, these closures mean the loss of over 500 good-paying, union jobs. 

In December, Sen. Brown and a bipartisan group of senators demanded the Biden Administration take immediate action and set a clear deadline for Mexico to enforce its 2019 agreement with the U.S.. That escalation in pressure followed Brown’s bipartisan push earlier in the year urging the Administration to take action against the unsustainable surge in Mexican steel imports.

Sen. Brown’s letter is available here