We present an animated infographic, in Spanish and Portuguese, based on OECD data, which highlights a critical reality for the steel industry in Latin America: Chinese overproduction and subsidies that distort global trade and exacerbate unfair competition.
Between 2021 and 2024, regional crude steel production fell by 13%, while rolled steel imports reached a record share of 40.9% of consumption in the first half of 2025. At the same time, Chinese steel exports to Latin America grew by 233% over the last 15 years, along with a sharp increase in steel contained in manufactured products.
The case of China shows that steel overproduction is not a response to supply and demand, but rather a strategy aimed at capturing manufacturing, based on subsidies that allow sales below actual production costs. This scenario impacts the entire regional value chain, affecting employment and local production and accelerating a process of deindustrialization throughout Latin America.