Mexico unveils new measures to protect steel industry

Mexico unveiled news measures to protect its struggling steel industry on Wednesday as slack global demand, oversupply from China and cheap imports from Russia have hammered steelmakers in Latin America's second largest economy.

The measures come a month after Mexico imposed provisional import duties on hot-rolled steel from Germany, China and France amid an anti dumping investigation.

Later in June, the government announced import duties on cold-rolled steel sheet from China.

An Economy Ministry statement said the measures include adding 86 steel products to the "sensitive merchandise" list, flagging them for extra scrutiny, as well as beefing up customs controls to prevent avoidance of quotas.

The Ministry said it had 31 anti dumping quotas in places, and nearly half are imposed on Chinese products.

Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA), one of Mexico's largest steelmakers, said last month it would cut its work force by 20 percent, suspend investments and reduce production after what it called a drastic fall in prices