In a letter led by Sen. Marco Rubio, lawmakers asked President Biden to reimpose a 25% tariff on steel imports from Mexico to prevent China from entering the US market through the back door and protect the domestic steel industry.

The lawmakers said that Mexico’s steel imports are now surging above historical trade levels, and Mexico’s steel conduit imports have jumped to around 500% over the 2015-2017 baseline and could rise to 700% this year. The surged imports meant that the US has an obligation to reimpose the restrictions to avoid the problem.

The former President Trump imposed 25% Section 232 tariffs on Mexico’s steel and aluminum in 2018. In 2019, the US reached an agreement with Mexico to exempt the 232 tariffs, which benefited from the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).