Latin American steel producers are concerned about the region becoming a draw for excess steel displaced by US Section 232 tariffs, European quota restrictions and China's persistent oversupply.
Producers at the Alacero Summit 2025 urged governments to adopt coordinated trade defense mechanisms to protect the region. The event brought together steelmakers from across the region and especially focused on efforts to curb Chinese steel.
"If governments give us a level playing field, we can win the game," Alacero's executive director Ezequiel Tavernelli said during the association's 2025 summit in Cartagena, Colombia, in mid-November.
Fragmented protections will only leave loopholes for foreign steel to further penetrate Latin America, undermining local industry and jobs, executives said.
The US decision to raise tariffs on imported steel to 50pc this year has pushed exporters — especially in Asia — to seek markets with weaker trade protections. Europe and some Asian countries, such as Vietnam, have reinforced their defenses with tariffs and anti-dumping duties, while the EU has cut import quotas and introduced clean-production requirements. As a result, excess steel is flowing into Latin America, where producers warn the surge could trigger deindustrialization and job losses.
"The more measures other countries take, the greater the risk that excess steel will flood our markets." Colombian steel chamber president Marcela Mejía said. "More than 40 months of falling prices are linked to imports at unfair prices."
Latin America's crude steel output has trended downward for 15 years, falling to 50mn t in 2025 from 67mn t in 2010, Alacero data show. Crude steel output in Brazil, the leading steel producer in the region, declined by 1.8pc to 28mn t year-to-date October from a year earlier. Mexico's year-to-date production fell by 9pc to 12.6mn t.
At the same time, Latin American imports of Chinese steel jumped to 14mn t in 2024, over three times more than in 2010, Alacero said.
Global overcapacity in crude steel reached 619mn t in 2024 and is expected to climb to 721mn t by 2027, with China alone responsible for 45pc of the excess, OECD economist Anthony de Carvalho said during the Alacero summit.
Per-capita consumption in Latin America remains stagnant at around 110kg (kilogrammes), nearly half the global average of 213kg. This structural weakness amplifies the risk of the region becoming a dumping ground for global surplus steel.
"Governments are starting to understand the importance of the steel industry for value creation and employment", steelmaker Ternium chief executive and Alacero president Máximo Vedoya said.
Mexico and Brazil currently maintain some of the region's highest tariffs on imports, ranging from20pc to 50pc, and multiple anti-dumping cases against imported steel. Peru has also opened an investigation into Chinese wire rod, although preliminary duties have recently expired, allowing the material to enter the country at lower import cost.
Colombia imposed 35pc tariffs on 13 imported steel products as of November, following the lead of Brazil and Mexico and signalling a tougher stance on unfair imports..
Many producers argue that existing measures have done little to stem the flow of cheaper foreign steel. Expectations now center on tougher actions, such as sweeping anti-dumping duties that could virtually block these imports, similar to restrictions already in place for plate and wire rod in Brazil. In some cases, anti-dumping tariffs in the region can reach as high as $600/metric tonne (t), effectively shutting down trade flows from certain origins.
But not all countries can afford to impose high tariffs on imports. Brazil is the region's largest flat steel producer, followed by Mexico, Argentina and Colombia with a small share. Most countries rely on imported flats. The absence of local producers means some countries may only propose anti-dumping measures at their own peril, as restricting imports could disrupt supply chains and raise costs for downstream industries.
