Duty-Free Steel Imports from Mexico Surge Beyond Agreed Upon Levels

Key Points Steel imports from Mexico have surged over the past several years. U.S. steel imports from Mexico have risen by 141% over historic levels, with some subcategories of imports tripling and quadrupling, despite a 2019 U.S.-Mexico agreement to maintain steel imports at past levels. The surge in steel imports in Mexican steel conduit, used…

How Steel Tariffs Are Helping US Workers

This article is an expanded version of testimony delivered by Mr. Ferry to the U.S. International Trade Commission on July 22, 2022.   The Section 232 steel tariffs have benefited the U.S. steel industry and its workforce American steelworkers earned an average of $117,200 last year, making steel one of the best-paying industrial sectors in…

Tariff Incidence in the Real World: Why Consumers (Mostly) Didn’t Pay the Steel Tariffs

Summary points: The import price of steel fell in the period following the 2018 imposition of a 25% steel tariff, an indicator that steel tariffs were not passed entirely onto consumers. Steel tariffs did not lead to a proportional rise in consumer prices of steel-intensive goods, such as automobiles. In many instances, firms will internalize…