Mrvan seeks to reinstate tariffs through Stop Mexico’s Steel Surge Act

United States Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, is looking to restore tariffs on steel imports from Mexico.

Mrvan proposed the Stop Mexico’s Steel Surge Act in the U.S. House of Representatives this week. The legislation would reinstate Section 232 tariffs of 25% on steel imports from Mexico for at least a year. The administration would be able to lift the tariff if  the secretary of commerce and U.S. trade representative determined Mexico was in compliance with the requirements of the 2019 Joint Agreement on Steel and Aluminum.

The bill also would let the administration apply quotas or tariff rate quotas on steel imports that have had major surges.

“As vice chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, I know that it is imperative that we do everything we can to defend American steelworkers against unfair trade practices," Mrvan said. "I am proud to collaborate in a bipartisan manner with my House and Senate colleagues on this initiative to ensure that our domestic steel industry will compete on a level playing field.”

The bill was co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. James Baird, R-Indiana; Troy Balderson, R-Ohio; Jim Banks, R-Indiana; Mike Bost, R-Indian; Nikki Budzinski, D-Illinois; Rick Crawford, R-Arkansas; Chris Deluzio, D-Pennsylvania; and Terri A. Sewell, D-Alabama. Senators Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.

“Mexico’s practice of steel dumping is a flagrant breach of our trade agreement and has caused significant harm to our steel industry," Crawford said. "We cannot allow bad actors to take advantage of trade agreements by attacking one specific American industry. It’s time to put our foot down and put tariffs in place to prevent Mexico from flooding our markets and causing further damage to American steel manufacturers.”

The United States had carved Mexico out of otherwise global tariffs that were imposed on national security grounds. Mexico and Canada were deemed preferred trade partners given the amount of cross-border trade in North America and linked supply chains in the automotive and other industries.

“When the United States in 2019 exempted Mexico from the Section 232 steel tariffs, Mexico agreed that it would not allow for exports from Mexico into the United States to surge above historic levels. Not to my surprise, Mexico has failed to live up to that agreement and has taken advantage of its favored trade relationship to substantially increase steel exports to the United States. For example, in 2023, Mexico exported nearly 523,000 short tons of corrosion-resistant steel to the United States, representing 231% of the export volume for the 2015-2017 period,” said Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of the steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs. “To make matters worse, Mexico has become the world capital of circumvention, allowing steel, auto parts and manufactured products from China and other nations to be routed through Mexico to the U.S. simply to achieve favorable tariff treatment."