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Calls for Lifting Mexican Cement Tariffs Intensify as Florida Prepares to Rebuild

There is no short-term relief to the problem in sight, analysts in the cement industry say, and concerns have intensified in Florida, where residents face a massive rebuilding effort following the ravages of Hurricane Charley and cement is a key building material that will be needed.

The devastating storm that pounded Southwest Florida with unexpectedly high winds two weekends ago has sharpened the national focus on the rupture in the cement pipeline that has largely resulted from heavy demand for materials and shipping from China. The U.S. has been importing about 20% of its cement, and the shortages have fallen heaviest upon Florida and other parts of the country that have been especially reliant on those imports.

An Aug. 22 report from Bloomberg News quotes Mike Hickman, president of the Florida Home Builders Association, that even before Charley cement shortages were delaying projects and adding one month onto the average amount of time it was taking to build a new home. The state has been relying on imports for 40% of the 7.2 million tons of cement it uses annually.

Exacerbating the problem has been the steady demand for cement from home building activity, which remains near record levels.

Voicing the frustration of home builders that Mexico could bring fairly swift relief except that anti-dumping duties are making its cement prohibitively expensive, NAHB Executive Vice President Jerry Howard appeared in major news outlets last week, including CNN, National Public Radio, Bloomberg and USA Today. The NAHB Senior Officers are continuing to urge the Administration to lift the cement tariffs.

Joining that appeal from NAHB was an Aug. 18 editorial by The Wall Street Journal observing that, “The Bush Administration is busy passing out checks to help Floridians rebuild after Hurricane Charley, a gesture that no doubt is appreciated. There is, however, another way it could support the reconstruction effort, and at considerably lower cost: Restore free trade in Mexican cement after 14 years of protectionism.”

An editorial in The Los Angeles Times the same day deplored shortages of several building materials — including wallboard, steel, framing lumber and insulation — that NAHB economists have calculated are driving up the cost of a typical new home by an average of $5,000-$7,000. “Yet at least when it comes to cement,” the editorial noted, “it’s a relatively simple problem to solve. Congress and the Bush Administration should rescind the costly anti-dumping duties imposed on Mexican cement in 1990.”

Editors at The Times added that “rising cement prices mean businesses and consumers face higher construction costs, so they have less money to spend on other products or on hiring more workers. Florida’s storm victims shouldn’t end up suffering more as the government protects an industry to their and most other Americans’ detriment.”

An Aug. 21 editorial iin the Orlando Sentinel said: "The Federal Emergency Management Agency has launched an extensive effort to help Floridians get back on their feet after Charley. But a truly comprehensive campaign from Washington to aid hurricane victims also would include a lifting of the cement tariffs."

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