Andean Group - May 2026

The general secretariat of the Andean Community (CAN) trade bloc met on 4 March with representatives of the Latin American steel association (Alacero), as well as with individuals representing the steel industry in each of the CAN member countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). Evidence presented at the meeting suggests that the Andean steel industry is rapidly losing competitiveness against imports from outside the region. The steel sector in CAN countries produces 3.4m tonnes annually (6% of the Latin American total), and directly employs 125,000 people, but has steadily lost ground to primarily Asian competition, with the CAN’s steel imports increasing by 303% from 2011-2025.

Individual countries in the bloc have introduced measures to try to reverse this trend, although this has not been without controversy. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro signed Decree 0264 on 16 March which raised tariffs to 35% on steel, iron, and aluminium products from countries without free trade agreements with Colombia. This includes countries such as China, India, Russia, and Turkey, Finance Minister Germán Ávila Plazas highlighted.

Petro’s decree noted that imports of some metal products increased by as much as 290% year-on-year during the first eight months of 2025, with particularly steep increases for products such as bars, wire, and pipes. The industrial sector has been voicing alarm for some time; in December 2024, Daniel Rey Suárez, director of steel products at Colombia’s national association of businesspeople (Andi), warned that Colombian steel was up to 42% more expensive than imports from countries like China and Vietnam.

Colombia’s efforts to protect its steel industry have previously caused tension within the CAN bloc. In March 2025 the CAN’s general secretariat overturned a 14.5% tariff which had been introduced by President Petro the previous October in response to concerns that Peruvian imports were undercutting the Colombian steel sector. An investigation by the CAN found that there had been no abrupt increase in imports from Peru to justify the tariffs. Having apparently learned from this experience, the new Colombian decree excludes CAN partners.

The steel sector generates approximately 10% of Colombia’s industrial GDP and employs around 45,000 people directly or indirectly. This vital but relatively small pillar of the nation’s economy cannot compete with the economies of scale of producers in China, which accounts for over 50% of worldwide steel output and produces over 1bn tonnes of steel per year. There are also concerns that increasing global steel supply is outstripping relatively stable levels of demand, which is likely to have further impact on smaller producers. The Colombian tariffs have initially been introduced for a one-year evaluation period, with the possibility of extension if it is deemed necessary.

Peru has also made moves to protect its own steel industry. The country’s competition watchdog (Indecopi) announced on 12 April that it was imposing anti-dumping duties on steel wire originating in China. The duty – of US$81.30 per tonne – applies to all Chinese producers and exporters for a period of five years. This follows a previous anti-dumping duty of US$64.60 per tonne which was charged from July-November 2025.

Indecopi also announced in January that it was imposing anti-dumping duties on stainless steel sinks originating from China. Further investigations are underway as to whether anti-dumping duties should be imposed on hot-rolled carbon steel tubes imported from China.