For more than two years, domestic steel producers have been urging the Biden administration to act on Mexico’s steel surge. But despite Mexico’s clear breaching of the agreement for several years, the Biden administration chose to negotiate rather than enforce a standing international agreement.
Aluminum imports into the U.S. have surged in recent years, with some product categories seeing a 380% increase since 2015. Many countries have already been found guilty of dumping aluminum into the U.S. at artificially low prices.
There is a strong and growing bipartisan consensus that the de minimis loophole has created rampant lawlessness and is facilitating the import of high-risk, illegal, and dangerous products—including deadly fentanyl poison that is killing tens of thousands of Americans each year.
The Department of Justice indicted a Chinese national who was living in the United States and importing thousands of kilograms of precursor chemicals used in making the addictive, powerful synthetic opioid known as fentanyl.
The de minimis customs provision that allows for goods priced under $800 to come into the U.S. duty free is full of risks, and an open door for “controlled substances and all sorts of contraband,” Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Tuesday.
While we appreciate Secretary Mayorkas’s acknowledgement that the de minimis loophole is a serious risk and undermines the U.S. government’s efforts to enforce the UFLPA, we have yet to see substantive action from the Biden administration to close this dangerous loophole.
New Biden-Mexico Steel Agreement will only affect about 16% of imports from Mexico, based on CPA’s analysis (the White House estimates it will only affect just 13% of imports).
The United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Free Trade Agreement is fast becoming a free trade agreement for the world, whereas any multinational with a presence in Mexico can set up shop and make the U.S. its number one target. China is doing that now.
Today’s announcement on actions to address Mexico steel surge shows that White House foreign policy bureaucrats that negotiated this deal care more about Mexico than about American workers.
When asked about China, both Trump and Biden should say that China’s trade surplus is an insult to the world and a huge disruptor to our economy.
