Alacero's executive director warns that 40% of Latin American steel consumption relies on imports, mainly from China & Southeast Asia. This creates unfair competition that threatens local production & employment. Peru imports over 2 million metric tons while producing only 1.5 million metric tons domestically. The industry faces challenges from government subsidies, currency manipulation, & environmental cost externalization by foreign competitors. Regional steel producers struggle to compete against artificially low-priced imports that don't reflect true production costs.