Mexico’s steel industry is being hit from both sides. To the north, the United States — once the destination for more than three-quarters of Mexican steel exports — slammed the door in June 2025 with 50% tariffs on imported steel, ending an exemption Mexico had enjoyed under USMCA since 2019. To the south and east, a flood of cheap Chinese-origin steel is arriving through indirect routes, undercutting domestic producers who cannot match the prices of state-subsidized mills operating with nearly 400 million tonnes of global overcapacity.
etween January and November, Mexican mills produced 15.5 million tonnes of finished steel, an 8.5% annual decline, according to Canacero, the national steel chamber. Overall steel consumption dropped roughly 10% over the same period — the 22nd consecutive month of declining demand, driven by weak construction activity and reduced industrial investment. Exports to the US fell 27% to 1.9 million tonnes, and Mexico’s share of the American steel market collapsed from 2.3% in 2024 to under 1% by mid-2025.
