The free trade agreement between Turkey and Ukraine entered into force

The free trade agreement signed between Turkey and Ukraine on February 3 came into force by presidential decree published in the official Turkish gazette on August 2.

According to the Turkish Ministry of Trade's official fact sheet on the agreement, some customs duties imposed by Ukraine on Turkish goods will now be abolished, while other customs duties will be eliminated after a transition period.

Türkiye will also abolish customs duties on imports of agricultural and industrial products of Ukrainian origin.

“It was decided to apply tax incentives and tax incentives under quotas to some agricultural and metallurgical products that are sensitive for our country, and some products were excluded from the scope of the agreement taking into account industry sensitivities,” the Turkish Ministry of Trade said.

The ministry will provide more detailed information in the coming days.

Ukraine's Economy Ministry previously said Turkey would set zero import duties on 510 of 840 metallurgical products under a free trade agreement. Import duties at reduced rates will also apply to another 130 products.

However, in order to promote the development of the domestic metallurgical industry, Ukraine reserved the right to levy customs duties on the export of scrap metal, the Ukrainian ministry noted.

Imports of finished and semi-finished steel, as well as scrap ferrous metals into Turkey decreased significantly after the outbreak of hostilities.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, priced Turkish imports of high-grade heavy steel scrap 1/2 (80:20) at $386/t CFR on Aug. 1, down $2/t on the day.