Alacero presents the Latin American Trade Defense Study (November 2025), prepared by Professor Germano Mendes de Paula (Universidade Federal de Uberlândia). The report provides a comprehensive analysis of trade defense measures applied in the steel sector at the global and regional levels, and highlights the gaps that currently leave Latin America more exposed to the advance of Chinese exports and global overcapacity.
The study reveals that between 2010 and 2023, more than half of the growth in regional steel demand was absorbed by Chinese products, driven by a chain of subsidies that distorts international competition. Unlike economies such as the United States, Canada, or the European Union—which combine tariffs, anti-dumping, countervailing subsidies, safeguards, and anti-circumvention measures—the region has reacted late and with limited instruments.
Among its main recommendations, the report proposes accelerating investigation processes, raising tariffs when damage is found, expanding the use of CVD, SG, and anti-circumvention measures, and strengthening the monitoring of direct and indirect trade to prevent triangulation. The objective: to level the playing field and promote the competitiveness of an industry that is strategically relevant to Latin America’s development.