61 member companies participated in the conference, where many critical issues such as the Responsible Program for the green transformation process in exports, domestic and international expo supports, market entry strategies, sectoral and procurement delegations, certification processes, global supply chain management, Turquality/brand incentives, foreign unit rent, brand registration and promotion supports were discussed.
Delivering the opening speech of the conference, Uğur Dalbeler, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (ÇİB), stated that Türkiye ranks fifth in world steel production and second in Europe after Germany. Dalbeler emphasized that the sector has shown a great development without state support since 1997 and has reached 40 million tons from 5-6 million tons of production. Stating that there have been serious changes in the steel industry on a global scale in recent years and that the industry has started to shift from global to regional production, Dalbeler drew attention to the effects of protectionist measures on steel trade.
Safeguarding Measures and Their Impact on the Industry
Stating that the USA has started to impose serious additional taxes and protectionism measures on the steel sector with the Trump era, Dalbeler stated that steel stands out as a strategic product all over the world. He reminded that the USA administration first imposed a 25% additional tax on imported steel with the rhetoric of “If you don't have steel in your country, you don't have a country” and then transferred USD 100 billions of resources to the sector. Following this process, the European Union took similar steps and offered incentives worth tens of billions of dollars to support steel production, Dalbeler added, emphasizing that Türkiye managed to grow during the pandemic without any state support and reached an export volume of 22 billion dollars.
Dalbeler stated that the Turkish steel industry needs to be supported more in exports due to the increase in protectionism in the global steel trade and the sector becoming more competitive, and emphasized the importance of activating the mechanisms that the industry needs, especially access to financing. “The USA and the EU are setting the terms of global competition by protecting their own steel industries. Türkiye needs to take strategic steps in a similar way.”
Government Supports and Green Transformation Stand Out
Mehmet Ali Fincan, Member of the Board of Directors of Turkish Steel Exporters' Association, stated that competition in the global market is increasing day by day and that state supports play a critical role for the sustainable growth of Türkiye's exports. Emphasizing that ÇİB provides a wide range of information from fair incentives to clustering supports, from branding and design supports to green transformation programs in order for its members to be stronger in global competition, Fincan emphasized that the Responsible Program, which was launched within the framework of the European Green Deal, offers great advantages to the Turkish steel industry.
Fincan stated that integrating environmentally friendly production processes within the scope of the Responsible Program will facilitate access to the European market and pave the way for sustainable exports. Emphasizing that state supports should be used more effectively in the green transformation process, Fincan noted that ÇİB will continue to increase its activities in this field.
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