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Workers at a Nissan plant in Mexico as car manufacturers in the country worry about restrictions on steel imports which could impact their operations. Photo: MCT

Mexico auto sector frets over China steel

Mexico’s auto sector said on Monday it is worried about recent lobbying by local steel producers to restrict steel imports from China and other countries.

Mexican Auto Industry Association (AMIA) President Eduardo Solis told a news conference the auto industry was "enormously concerned" about the issue even as auto output rose 6.7 per cent in June to 306,694 units versus the same month last year.

In June, Mexico imposed tariffs on cold-rolled steel from China, and hot-rolled steel from China, Germany, and France after an anti-dumping investigation.

Solis said that the auto sector has not been affected by the new duties, but he remains attentive to any proposals that could impact the industry’s competitiveness.

Steel imports are a "fundamental component" of vehicles and auto parts, Solis said.

Mexico’s auto exports, meanwhile, rose 5.3 per cent to 242,720 units, AMIA said.

Car exports to the United States, where nearly three-quarters of Mexico’s cars head, rose 10.3 per cent in June compared to the same month last year, and US sales were the main driver of the overall rise in exports.

Car exports to Europe increased 23.3 per cent in the month, however. The auto sector accounts for about 30 per cent of Mexico’s exports, according to the national statistics institute.

Mexico’s steel chamber, Canacero, said in a statement that it was not looking to affect any other industrial sector. "(Canacero) demands that dumping be stopped decisively, due to the speed with which it has grown in recent months," the statement said.

Last month, steelmaker Altos Hornos de Mexico said it would lay off thousands of workers and cut production because of a steep drop in prices this year. It said the government had been slow to address the increasing number of steel imports at dumping prices.

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