Mexico withdraws recently imposed 20-35% aluminium tariffs claiming insufficient supplies

Mexico has reportedly lifted tariffs on aluminium imports from certain countries that do not have sufficient supplies. As per the report, Mexico has revoked a 35 per cent tariff on primary unalloyed aluminium and a 20 per cent tariff on primary alloy that were placed in late April to check imports from China and elsewhere. 

Explaining the decision, the Mexican government said that the supply of raw unalloyed or alloyed aluminium in countries with which Mexico signed an international treaty of trade matters was inadequate for the automotive and electronics industries. 

Originally, tariffs were imposed to provide certain and fair market conditions to the domestic industry that faced situations of vulnerability caused by international trade. The tariffs were designed in large packages encompassing over 500 product categories, including aluminium, steel, and ferroalloy products.

Aluminium products subject to a 20-35 per cent tariff range include bars, rods, profiles, plates, sheets, strips, tubes, pipes and some extruded products like frames and thresholds.

The primary sources of Mexico’s raw aluminium are the Asian countries, with China being the highest. In February, the latter accounted for 42 per cent of Mexico’s total imports, showed the data collected by the central bank. 

The automotive and electronics industries have recently grown in Mexico as international manufacturers have moved their productions there to come closer to North American consumers and avoid supply chain problems.