The Latin American Steel Association (Alacero) responded to the US government's announcement to raise steel and aluminum tariffs to 50% under Section 232 tariffs, saying that this policy will further worsen the outlook for the global steel market. 

Alacero pointed out that this decision will not help the problem of global overcapacity in steel production, and that the overcapacity mainly comes from China and other Southeast Asian countries. In addition, this implementation may also weaken the regional value chain established between Latin America and the US over the decades. 

Alacero stressed that Latin America doesn't pose a threat to the US market, and some countries in the region even purchase more from the US than they export to the US. In fact, countries such as Mexico and Brazil still supply some key steel needs in the US that cannot be met by local mills in the short term. 

Therefore, Alacero hopes to jointly establish a regional supply chain with the US to fight against unfair trade practices such as subsidies and overcapacity in Asia, and adopt reasonable import tariffs on Latin America.