On Friday, October 10th, Turkey announced in its official gazette that it will impose anti-dumping duties on certain imported steel from China, Russia, India, and Japan. Among these countries, the highest tax rate is for steel imports from China, a move that boosted the stock prices of the country’s flat steel producers.
According to Veysel Yayan, the Secretary-General of the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD), the tariffs will affect imports of approximately 4 million tons of products, valued at around $20 to $22 billion.
The announcement stated that the imposed tax rates vary between 6.10% to 43.31% of the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) prices. This measure aims to prevent unfair competition, based on complaints from domestic producers.
The tax rates for steel imports from China range from approximately 15% to 43%, while for imports from Russia, India, and Japan, the rates range from 6% to 9%.
Turkey’s decision comes amidst escalating trade tensions between China and Europe due to tariffs on electric cars, brandy, and other goods.
The official gazette of Turkey indicated that an investigation into the import of hot-rolled steel showed that dumping practices from China, Russia, India, and Japan posed a threat to domestic production.
Unprocessed hot-rolled steel plate products, including alloy and non-alloy products, are within the scope of the anti-dumping measures investigation.
Following the announcement, shares of Turkish steel producers Erdemir rose by as much as 2.48%, while Isdemir increased by 2.2%.
Brokerage firm Deniz Yatirim stated in a report, “We believe this development is positive for hot-rolled flat steel producers, especially Isdemir and Erdemir.”
Currently, Turkey’s steel production is facing a significant decline. In 2023, steel production decreased by 4% compared to 2022, dropping to 33.714 million tons. The country’s steel exports decreased by 30.6% year-on-year to 10.5 million tons, with export revenue also declining by 40.7% to $8.3 billion.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s steel imports in 2023 increased by 15.5% year-on-year to a total of 17.1 million tons, while the annual cost of these imports decreased by 6.1% to $14.6 billion.
Veysel Yayan of the Turkish Steel Producers Association expects that the utilization rate of domestic producers’ capacity will increase following the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imported hot-rolled flat steel.
Earlier, on September 10, India issued an order to levy duties on welded stainless steel pipe exports from China, the world’s largest steel producer, and neighboring Vietnam for the next five years.
Earlier this year, U.S. President Biden, in a speech to the country’s steelworkers’ union, called for higher tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. His economic advisor Lael Brainard pointed out that Beijing’s policies leading to overcapacity pose a serious threat to the future of the U.S. steel and aluminum industries. The U.S. government has also begun taking measures to restrict the import of Chinese steel via third countries like Mexico.
【This article referenced reporting from Firstpost】