US exempts Turkish steel exporters from special tariff

The US Department of Commerce has ruled that Turkish steel exporters will be exempted from additional customs duties imposed on overseas companies that receive subsidy payments, the Turkish Steel Exporters Association said in a statement.

The US Department of Commerce ruled that Turkish producers such as Çolakoğlu and Erdemir would not receive subsidies, according to the preliminary results of an investigation into Turkish exports of hot rolled steel, the US Department of Commerce said. The investigation was initiated by American steelmakers against companies from South Korea, Brazil and Turkey. Also, a separate anti-dumping investigation was conducted in relation to imports from Australia, Japan, Holland, Great Britain, South Korea, Brazil and Turkey.

“We want to make it clear that the Turkish steel industry will not benefit from subsidies and the accusation to the contrary is unfair. This result once again proved the truth of our claims,” said Namik Ekinci, head of the Turkish Steel Exporters Association. The US Department of Commerce also exempts South Korean exporters from the special tariff, but decided to apply a 7.42 percent additional customs duty on products imported from Brazil.

Ekinci said that although the US Department of Commerce made a fair decision, the procedure slowed down or blocked the trade of Turkish steel producers. “Even when we proved that we did not use any incentives from the government, these procedures slowed down our exports. We believe that the American authorities are influenced by local producers, and this unfair pressure must be stopped,” concluded members of the Turkish associations of steel exporters.