Iron and steel imports to Mexico fell more than 14 percent between January and April 2025, due to the imposition of tariffs by Donald Trump and a lower demand for raw material due to a contraction in the construction and manufacturing industry.
“The reduction of imports of 14 percent compared to 2024, is more explained by a slowdown in domestic demand, linked to construction and certain manufactures, than to a structural improvement,” reveals a report from the ITESO, Jesuit University of Guadalajara.
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From January to April 2025, Mexico has imported more than 5,907 million dollars of iron and steel casting compared to the purchase of 6,869 million dollars acquired abroad at the same period last year, according to the analysis carried out by the ITESO Business School.
Although trade remained at high levels, the slight expansion of the commercial deficit suggests a still solid demand for imported intermediate goods, hardly substitutable in the short term in the Mexican economy, he expresses.
Also, exports of the iron and steel smelting had a decrease of 3.27 percent in the first four -month period of 2025. Mexico sold only 1,247 million dollars of iron and steel abroad, especially to the United States and Canada.
The recent decision of the United States Government to raise 25 percent to 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, including Mexico, introduces a new source of pressure on binational productive chains.
Although Mexican exports of these products represent 3 percent of the total exported, “their impact goes beyond the amount exported directly, given the role that these inputs play in key industries such as automotive, the construction and manufacture of machinery,” says the institution.
Beyond the direct flows, the impact of the tariff increase will be transverse: “It will affect exporters integrated into binational chains, but will also have indirect effects in sectors that depend on steel and aluminum as input,” he recalls.
He adds that the increase in these materials could reduce competitiveness, affect profit margins and stop investments, particularly in industries with strong regional presence such as automaker or advanced manufacturing.
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Therefore, it will be essential to follow up not only to the evolution of foreign trade, but also to the performance of productive activities that depend intensely on these inputs, as well as their adaptation strategies against the new environment, concludes the report.
