MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump "is not justified" because the U.S. runs a steel and aluminum trade surplus with Mexico, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday.

"Mexico imports more steel from the United States than it exports," Ebrard said on a press conference alongside Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Ebrard pointed to a graph sourced to U.S. Census Bureau data showing Mexican steel product exports to the U.S. falling since 2022, while Mexico's imports of U.S. steel grew in the same period, according to the data.

Trump on Monday raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a flat 25% "without exceptions or exemptions" in a move he hopes will aid the struggling industries in the United States but which also risks sparking a multi-front trade war.

Nearly a quarter of all steel used in the U.S. is imported, and Mexico is among its largest suppliers, along with Canada and Brazil.