Tariffs on aluminum and steel will impact Puebla

PUEBLA - In light of the imposition of 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the United States, the National Chamber of the Transformation Industry (Canacintra) in Puebla warned that six sectors will be affected.

These are the following sectors: electrical appliance manufacturing; automotive and auto parts; electronic products; agro-industry or food (packaging, cans, etc.); tool manufacturing; machinery and equipment, as well as power generation.

Carlos Sosa Spinola, president of the organization, commented that while the United States is hurting itself. In the case of companies in the entity, they will also resent President Donald Trump's tariff measures.

He indicated that there will be a reduction in the competitiveness of local industry; regional supply chains will be affected; in addition, production costs will increase in all sectors.

He commented that the main concern is layoffs and salary cuts, of which they still cannot calculate the impact in numbers until the tariffs are applied.

He indicated that the red lights are on in Puebla's industries and that in the rest of the country there is the same reserved prognosis.

“Undoubtedly, economic growth will be encouraged in 2025, which goes against the plans that were in place in the different industrial sectors,” he said.

Sosa Spinola said that in order to try to counteract the effects of aluminum and steel tariffs, Puebla's industries will have to rethink their manufacturing processes with greater automation, reducing the human factor within the company.

He indicated that expansion projects of companies in Puebla would be stopped, so it is up to the authorities to intervene.

He also recalled that this would have an inflationary effect for the United States, since they do not have the capacity to cover the demand for products within the country, making life more expensive for their citizens.