Cheap Chinese steel threatens jobs in Latin America
SANTIAGO: Latin American metal workers are clamoring for higher import tariffs as cheap Chinese steel floods the region, threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs linked to the industry. Last year, the region imported a record 10 million tons of Chinese steel - a 44 percent rise from the year before, according to data from the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero). Two decades ago, the figure was just 85,000 tons. “China is too present in Latin America,” Alacero executive Alejandro Wagner told AFP. “No one is against trade between countries, but it must be fair trade,” he added.
As the pressure increases, steel plant bosses and workers in countries like Chile and Brazil - the top producer in the region and number nine in the world - are pressing governments for higher import tariffs. If they were to do so, they would follow Mexico and the United States, which have imposed additional tariffs of 25 percent on Chinese imports amid a surge of cheap exports as a result of Beijing subsidies and excess production.
Earlier this month, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed concern about “substantial overinvestment and excess capacity” in sectors like steel and aluminum in China, which she said had “decimated industries across the world and in the United States.” A dive in the Asian giant’s construction sector has further added to an oversupply of steel for exportation. Data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2022 showed China leading global steel production with 54 percent, followed by India with 6.6 percent. Latin America’s top producers - Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia - came in at a combined 3.1 percent.—AFP