The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced updates on steel imports from Brazil and Mexico.

For steel product imports from Brazil, the U.S. is reducing its import quota. In 2018, the US agreed to a quota on steel product imports from Brazil, with 350,000 metric tons of semi-finished steel products set to be imported for the remainder of 2020. In light of market conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the US is reducing that quota to 65,000 metric tons for the rest of 2020.

For steel product imports from Mexico, the US has seen a recent surge in imports of standard pipe, mechanical tubing, and semi-finished steel products. To remedy this surge, Mexico has agreed to establish a “strict export monitoring regime for the products through June 1, 2021 and closely monitor shipments during this period.” During this time, the US will retain is Section 232 duty exemption for these products.

Trans-Border will continue to monitor the situation. If you have any questions, please reach out to Bill Carey, Import Compliance Manager, at bcarey@tbgfs.com or (800) 493-9444.