(Bloomberg)--Mexico cut import duties on steel ingots to 3 percent from 5 percent, to make domestic manufacturing more competitive, according to a decree published in the government’s official gazette.

The government is also cutting duties on alloy and non- alloy aluminum wire to 3 percent and it is removing an exception for aluminum products such as tubes and will increase import taxes to as much as 5 percent, the Mexican Economy Ministry said yesterday in the Nation’s official gazette. The decree takes effect today.

Three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange has gained 19 percent in the past four months. It traded at $2,455 a ton today.