The US-Mexico steel tariff protocol exposed: A specific quantity of Mexican steel will be exempt from a 50% tariff.

According to people familiar with the matter, the United States and Mexico are close to reaching an agreement to remove Trump’s 50% tariff on steel imports below a certain amount. Trump was not directly involved in the negotiations, which were led by US Commerce Secretary Lutnick. Under the current terms, U.S. buyers can import Mexican steel duty-free as long as they keep their total shipments below levels based on historical trade volumes, the people said. The new cap would be higher than allowed by a similar agreement during Trump’s first term. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. imported about 3.2 million tons of steel from Mexico last year, accounting for 12% of total U.S. steel imports. During Trump’s first term, the United States reached an agreement with Mexico in 2019 to prevent imports from exceeding the average for the 2015-2017 period.