The United States and Mexico are about to reach a protocol on steel tariffs.

On June 11, the U.S. and Mexico were on the verge of reaching an agreement to remove Trump's 50% tariff on steel imports below a certain amount, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump was not directly involved in the negotiations, which were led by US Commerce Secretary Lutnick. Under the current terms, U.S. buyers can import Mexican steel duty-free as long as they keep their total shipments below levels based on historical trade volumes, the people said. The new cap would be higher than allowed by a similar agreement during Trump's first term. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. imported about 3.2 million tons of steel from Mexico last year, accounting for 12% of total U.S. steel imports. During Trump's first term, the U.S. reached an agreement with Mexico in 2019 to prevent imports from exceeding the average for the 2015-2017 period. ( gold ten )