U.S. halves Tariffs on Turkish Steel Imports

As per the latest updates, Trump government have reduced tariffs on steel imports coming from Turkey to 25% which was increased to 50% almost a week earlier. The government has removed all the other economic sanctions on Turkey on the grounds that the five days ceasefire in Syria had been successful and will remain permanent.

The Section 232 tariff on steel imports from Turkey had been increased from 25% to 50% in August 2018 and later reduced back down to 25% in May 2019. However, on 14 Oct’19, tariffs were increased once again increased to 50%.

Nonetheless, the U.S. president has added that he could reimpose tariffs and sanctions on Turkey if it does not honor its obligations to protect religious and ethnic minorities. "We reserve the right to reimpose crippling sanctions including substantially increased tariffs on steel and all other products coming out of Turkey," Trump said in a statement.

According to U.S. Commerce Department, Turkish exports of steel products into the U.S. from Jan-Aug’19 totalled to 201,000 tonnes, down by 74% compared to the 762,000 tonnes shipped in the same period of 2018.

Turkey’s steel sector has already come under pressure from a global economic slowdown which has taken toll on its construction, automotive and white goods sectors, driving down steel consumption by 31% y-o-y basis and production by more than 10%.