US import restrictions may affect Türkiye's export of steel of 1.1 billion US dollars
If Donald Trump continues to tighten import restrictions, Türkiye's export of US steel products worth US $1.1 billion will be affected.
US steel industry executives are calling on Trump to immediately implement import controls to protect the domestic steel industry.
Namik Ekinci, president of Türkiye Steel Exporters Association, said that the import control was a fatal blow to Türkiye's steel exports. In 2016, Türkiye exported 2.3 million tons of steel to the United States, worth 1.1 billion dollars. "If import control is really implemented, all steel products exported by Türkiye to the United States may be threatened." In 2016, Türkiye exported 16.5 million tons of steel products, 14% of which were exported to the United States.
Trump stated in July that the final decision on steel trade would be made after other important matters were resolved. However, the attitude of the United States to protect the domestic steel industry has raised concerns in Türkiye and has affected the country's steel exports in recent months.
Industry data shows that due to Trump's earlier trade investigation to confirm whether imported steel poses a threat to US national security, the amount of steel exported to the United States in July plummeted by 56% compared to April to 114000 tons.
After conducting anti-dumping and countervailing investigations on rebar in Türkiye, the US Department of Commerce once levied temporary tariffs on some steel enterprises in Türkiye.
In May, the United States finally concluded its investigation on Türkiye's rebar that Türkiye's rebar is a dumping product led by the state. Türkiye's steel exporters have appealed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the final determination. Morocco also levied anti-dumping duties on Türkiye's hot rolled products, and Türkiye also filed a complaint with the WTO.
Ekinci said that despite the heavy pressure, Türkiye's steel exports from January to July 2017 still rose 15% year-on-year to 10.9 million tons.
