The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has strengthened North American trade, but its scheduled review is an opportunity to address significant issues that remain unresolved. The Trump administration is engaged in constructive conversations with Mexico to correct course and ensure the agreement delivers on its promises.

Unfair Trade Practices

Mexico has increasingly served as a gateway for steel from countries that distort global markets through subsidies and overcapacity. Between 2020 and 2024, Mexican steel imports from South Korea, China, and Vietnam rose by 44%, 59%, and 39%, respectively. These imports gained preferential access to the North American market despite originating from countries that have long undermined fair competition.

Canada also presents a similar challenge, with its imports of Chinese steel increasing by approximately 75% from 2020 through 2024. China remains the world’s largest source of excess steel capacity, a problem responsible for displacing production, depressing prices, and killing manufacturing jobs across the globe.

Solutions and Next Steps

The solutions to these issues are straightforward. Canada and Mexico should adopt border measures comparable to the United States’ successful Section 232 steel tariffs to prevent unfairly traded steel from entering North America through alternative routes. Both countries should restrict investment by non-market economies in strategically important industries. USMCA should strengthen steel-related rules of origin and adopt a true ‘melted and poured’ requirement so that steel receiving preferential treatment is genuinely produced in North America, not merely processed here after originating elsewhere.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.