A senior Mexican government official stated that U.S. protectionism for national security led the United States to impose a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from around the world.

The Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of the Mexican Ministry of Economy, Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, made this comment in a message via Twitter, which he later deleted.

“Trips to Washington DC in recent weeks make clear to me the return of trade protectionism. This is how it was born, and with tariffs reaching up to 50%, it financed the public budget until the beginning of the 20th century,” Gutiérrez wrote.

“It is very important to understand that the imposition of tariffs is not an issue against Mexico, but an instrument used within a new world trade design where the most relevant variable is not price or competitiveness, but economic security. This changes the whole model,” he added.

U.S. protectionism

The new tariffs are part of a series of measures by President Donald Trump’s administration related to unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures to protect US industry.

Gutiérrez also said in that tweet: “Undoubtedly, what Mexico has achieved in the last 30 years in trade matters, and particularly in the last 6 years, not only allows our country to face this new and undoubtedly complex challenge, but even to emerge strengthened within the beginnings of what is already perceived as a new paradigm. @Claudiashein @m_ebrard”.