ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, has not changed its plan to invest $1 billion dollars in a new production line in Mexico, a spokesman said on Friday, despite uncertainty around terms of trade in North America. Since ArecelorMittal announced the investment in September, talks initiated by US President Donald Trump to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement have bogged down, and Trump stirred fears of a global trade war on Thursday by announcing plans for steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Mexico's steel chamber has called for immediate "equivalent and reciprocal tariffs on steel imports from the United States" if Trump follows through on his tariff plan next week as promised.
ArcelorMittal's spokesman in Mexico said 80 percent of the steel the company produced in the country was destined for the local market, with the remaining 20 percent exported to the United States, Canada and other markets. "In this context, we will keep working in the same way," said Ricardo Bussey, the corporate affairs director for ArcelorMittal Mexico, adding that the investment would take place over three years.
The investment covers construction of a new hot strip mill, which upon completion in about three years will allow annual production of 2.5 million tonnes of flat rolled steel, the company said in September. The new production will be for domestic, non-auto, general industry customers, the company said. ArcelorMittal operates six facilities at three ports in Mexico.
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