Turkey considering hiking tariffs on cotton imports from US: Presidential adviser Cemil Ertem
ISTANBUL
Turkey plans to impose tariffs on imports of cotton from the U.S. in response to Washington’s bid to impose hefty tariffs on foreign steel products, Cemil Ertem, chief economic adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has stated.
“The countries, Turkey in particular, that will be affected by the U.S. decision to raise taxes are now preparing to retaliate through alternative products. For Turkey, that means cotton,” Ertem wrote in an article published in daily Milliyet on March 6.
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed last week to impose 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum to overcome national security concerns.
Turkey’s exports of steel to the U.S. amounted to $1.1 billion in 2017, making it the sixth largest steel exporter to the U.S. with a 5.6 percent share in the country’s total imports.
Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci signaled Turkey’s potential response even before Trump’s announcement.
“Such measures will hit Turkish importers, producers and exporters. If they complain about U.S. measures we will assess the situation and are more likely to take retaliatory measures,” Zeybekci said on Feb. 20.
Turkey imported cotton products worth about $738 million in 2017, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TÜİK) foreign trade data.
