US service center Zekelman has filed a lawsuit against Mexico for alleged trade agreement violations that include dumping steel in the US market.
The Chicago-based company alleged that Mexican conduct "threatens the national security of the [US] by damaging domestic steel producers," it said in a statement earlier this week.
Zekelman attributed the closure of its Long Beach, California, tube manufacturing plant in 2022 and plans to close its Chicago mill in 2025 to these violations.
"Steel shipments from Mexico have increased dramatically since 2021, causing declining employment and stunted growth at US steelmakers," the company said. It also suggested that some of the material coming from Mexico to the US could have masked production with China and India origins.
"Mexican imports from China and India grew dramatically in 2021 and at roughly the same time that US steel imports from Mexico surged."
Mexico — a member of the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade pact — has been under fire for years from US politicians for allegedly shipping above limits set under an agreement during former president Donald Trump's administration. The US requires steel from Mexico to be melted and poured in-country or in the USMCA region to avoid 25pc Section 232 national security tariffs.
Mexican steel shipments to the US fell in July to their lowest levels since December 2015.
Mexico's Ministry of Economy did not immediately respond to an Argus request for comment.
