China accounted for 61% of Brazil’s steel imports from January to September 2025
11/12/2025
The surge of steel exports from China continues to challenge the Latin American steel industry, according to experts gathered at the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero) congress in Cartagena, Colombia. Jorge Oliveira, president of Alacero and of ArcelorMittal Brazil, warned on Tuesday (11) that the situation is more concerning than in previous years, with few answers to the growing influx of Chinese steel in the region. “The reality shows that, despite our efforts, Latin America’s steel market is deteriorating due to global overcapacity from Asia,” he said.
Mr. Oliveira noted that Latin American producers have been forced to scale back investments and reduce production. “Chile’s largest steel producer, Huachipato, has shut down operations. Geopolitical tensions are affecting the entire supply chain, as well as commodity and logistics prices. We must find effective responses to face this challenging environment,” he said.
Data confirms the concern. Between January and September 2025, Brazil imported 5.075 million tonnes of steel products from all sources, up 9.7% year over year, according to the Instituto Aço Brasil. Imports from China alone jumped 25.9% over the same period, reaching 3.1 million tonnes. Chinese steel accounted for 61.1% of Brazil’s total steel imports, 7.9 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
Over the same period, Brazilian steel output fell 1.7% to 24.982 million tonnes, down from 25.419 million in 2024. According to Alacero, China produces in 20 days what the entire Latin American steel industry produces in a year. In Brazil’s case, Chinese mills generate the country’s annual output in just 12 days.
“Latin America is losing its development potential. Our trade defense barriers are too weak,” said Ezequiel Tavernelli, Alacero’s executive director. He added, “Latin American economies are becoming more dependent on raw materials than manufactured goods. The region is deindustrializing.”
Mr. Tavernelli warned that China’s influence could become a social problem for Latin America, as a slowdown in the steel sector affects a wide industrial chain: “The steel industry creates jobs, drives logistics, and supplies many other industries. Several sectors are hit at once.”
He argued for greater regional integration and stronger trade-defense policies, including higher import tariffs. Brazil’s quota-tariff system shows that import taxes must be higher, he said.
In May, Brazil’s Foreign Trade Chamber (Gecex/Camex), under the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, renewed the country’s steel import quota system through May 2026. The policy imposes a 25% tariff on Chinese steel exceeding the quota, covering 23 product categories.
“Latin America could win if competition were fair,” Mr. Tavernelli said. “Chinese steel is subsidized, from energy costs to transport. Our region has a strong steel industry with real potential, but we can’t compete on such unequal terms.”
At the same event, Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), argued that political fragmentation among Latin American governments weakens their collective position. “The lack of unity among Latin American leaders leaves the region more vulnerable. The private sector may have to step in to fill that gap. Acting in isolation, countries are unlikely to find a solution,” he said.
*By Kariny Leal — Cartagena
Source: Valor International
https://valorinternational.globo.com/