Mexico's DeAcero welcomes US steel import tariff

Mexican steelmaker Grupo DeAcero’s CEO, Raúl Gutiérrez Muguerza, described as “great news” the agreement announced last week with the United States to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico but melted or poured in other countries.

“The joint statement is great news for the Mexican steel industry because it indicates the greater integration of the North American market,” Gutiérrez told a press conference in Mexico City.

Last week, the US imposed a 25% tariff on steel not melted or poured in Mexico or Canada.

Gutiérrez said in the case of steel there are a large volumes of imports from many countries that end up harming competitiveness, and that, by stopping products that may be dumped, Mexican companies can use their profits to grow more.

“We have very high growth and growth potential because about 35% of Mexico's total consumption is still imported. Simply with import substitution it is a great advance that can occur in the growth of all companies,” he added.

In the specific case of DeAcero, Gutiérrez said currently the company's utilization factor is around 70% and it has room to increase to 85-90%. 

New steel mill

The DeAcero CEO told BNamericas that the plan is still to start production at its new US$1 billion steelworks for large profiles and beams at the end of 2026.

“We're on the right track, we’re on time, the machinery is being manufactured, the construction is beginning to be done, the earthworks are already being done, some foundations are already being done,” said Gutiérrez. He said construction of the mill, in Ramos Arizpe in Coahuila state, will generate about 2,000 jobs and about 700 when it is operating, in addition to indirect ones.

“We're investing in everything that is larger profiles and beams because that gives us the opportunity to be the benchmark in construction steel in Mexico,” he added.

The company is simultaneously investing in its industrial intelligence policy, which aims, among other objectives, to increase production capacity from the current 3.7Mt to almost 5Mt of finished products.

“What we’re trying to do is see how we can generate more value, and in order to generate more value we need to be more intelligent industrially speaking,” said Gutiérrez, who is a former head of steel industry chamber Canacero.

“We do engineering to provide solutions to the building or infrastructure or construction industry in general, greater agility and greater value so that time is saved, waste is avoided, theft is avoided, in such a way that with that intelligence we can generate more value for our clients and for us.”