Tayfun İşeri, Çolakoğlu Metalurji Coordinator and Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Türkiye İnşaat Malzemesi Sanayicileri Derneği (İMSAD), made important evaluations about the US policies on steel trade at the Söz Sizde Çelik Sohbetleri event, where the leading names of the steel industry were hosted.
Stating that US President Donald Trump's trade policies target countries with trade deficit, İşeri said that Türkiye is not a target in this context. Emphasising that Türkiye's trade balance with the US is at the level of 15 billion dollar in imports and 15 billion dollar in exports, İşeri said: ‘As long as Turkiye is not on the radar politically, it will not be on Trump's radar’.
İşeri reminded that Trump has taken steps towards major trade partners such as Canada and Mexico in order to close the trade deficit and stated that he has decided to impose a 25% tariff on steel and all other products. Stating that the existing 10 % tariff against China was increased to 20 %, İşeri said that anti-dumping measures applied to Chinese products also continued.
Emphasising that one of the biggest question marks for the sector is the possible additional taxes to be imposed on scrap imports, İşeri said, ‘Will the 25% customs duty announced for Canada and Mexico also cover scrap imports? This is an important issue in the sector.’
Stating that the US has strengthened its steel sector thanks to the Section 232 regulation, İşeri said that the US imported 27 million tons of steel last year, of which 7 million tons were semi-finished products. Stating that 17 million tons of the remaining 20 million tons of imports were imported without tax, İşeri said, ‘Türkiye did not get a share from these 20 million tons of imports, but it took part in the 3 million tons of steel imports with tax with 400 thousand tons. In other words, we have a market share close to 15 %. This is not a rate to be underestimated,’ he said.
Tax Load and its Effects on the Sector
İşeri said that if the US imposes a 25 % tax on all trade partners, uncertainties about how Türkiye will be affected by this process continue. ‘If equal conditions are provided for everyone, we can overcome the cost part.
İşeri also pointed out that tax burdens may arise in different ways due to the lack of VAT application in the US, stating that they have suffered a loss of 8 million dollars due to tax regulations in the past, and urged sector representatives to be careful. ‘Everyone should act with tomorrow in mind,’ he concluded.
You can watch Tayfun İşeri's full speech with English subtitles by clicking here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPdzsM3C-co
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