USA and aluminum US tariffs come into force: these are the most affected products

The United States has imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The measure, promoted by President Donald Trump, will impact all commercial partners in the country and about 150,000 million dollars in imported consumption products, according to Bloomberg.

The US government has indicated that these new levies will be added to 25% applied to the merchandise imported from Mexico, China and Canada on March 4. For exporters of these countries, Tariffs would reach 50%.

Claudia Sheinbaum, president of Mexico, and Donald Trump agreed that Mexican imports included in the treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC) will be exempt from tariffs imposed at the beginning of this month. Experts point out that only a fraction of steel and aluminum imports are carried out under the terms of the trilateral agreement.

Gabriela Siller Pagaza, director of Economic Analysis of Banco Base, explains that “99% of steel, 67% of steel manufactures and approximately 33% of aluminum and its derivatives exported to the United States from Mexico now face a 50% tariff.”

Products most affected by steel and aluminum tariffs

The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) estimates that Mexican sales affected by these tariff auto parts, appliances and electronic, essential for the industry of at least 11 Mexican states. ”

Citibanamex analysts argue that the entry into force of these measures will have a direct impact on aluminum and smelting manufacturing exports, classified under chapters 73 and 76 of the harmonized system of designation and coding of goods. These goods have an estimated value of 7,000 million dollars, representing 86.4% and 42.5% of the total exports of Mexico in these chapters. In addition, they warn that products that contain steel or aluminum, but are not within these categories, such as machinery, transport equipment, appliances and toys, will also be affected. Exports of these items are valued at around 8,000 million dollars.

Mexico, Canada and the European Union respond to the USA

In her morning conference on Wednesday, the president of Mexico reported that her government will wait until April 2 to determine if it will impose reciprocal tariffs on the imports of steel and aluminum from the United States. “April 2 is the date on which the United States government has indicated that it could implement a reciprocal tariff scheme globally. We will wait until then to define whether we apply similar measures, ”he explained.

For its part, the Government of Canada announced that it will impose retaliation tariffs for a total of 29.8 billion Canadian dollars as of Thursday. Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, described US tariffs as “unjustified and unjustifiable.”

Canada, the main foreign steel and aluminum supplier in the United States, will focus its response on steel products for a value of 12.6 billion Canadian dollars, aluminum items for 3,000 million, and other imported goods from the United States, such as computers, sports material and cast iron products, valued at 14.2 billion.