The U.S. Commerce Department has decided to impose tariffs ranging from 97 per cent to 162 per cent on Chinese made aluminium foil increasing it from the already existing 81% rate that the administration had imposed in the summer. However, Canada and Mexico have not imposed any such restrictive tariffs. Let us check the aluminium foil import trends in Mexico for last three years to understand the consumption pattern and the import dependence.
Mexico imported 108,092 tons of aluminium foil in 2016 as compared to 97,835 tons of aluminium foil in 2015. In the year 2017, Mexico is estimated to import about 95,322 tons of aluminium foil. The trend shows a downward movement, showing the country getting more dependent on domestically produced foils.
The leading exporter of foil to Mexico is USA, whose foil shipments to Mexico stands at about 60,176 tonnes. China exports another large amount at 31,742 tonnes. Germany and Austria are other notable exporters of foil to Mexico. We can see the constant growth of import from China YoY in these three years; however, USA remains the prime exporter.
Cost from import of aluminium foil in Mexico has registered a slight increase year-over-year. The Cost from import was USD 417 million and USD 423 million respectively for the years 2015 and 2016. In 2017, the cost of import is estimated to be about USD 422.3 million. The slow growth in import cost can be attributed to an oversupply of cheaper aluminium foil products in the international markets and tough competition among exporters.