Trump’s steel tariffs add to US-Turkish bickering
Turkish manufacturers see “great injustice” in Washington’s new steel tariffs, as Ankara seeks compromise on the issue amid the tense political climate between the two countries.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has added a new item to the long list of problems between Turkey and the United States. Turkish manufacturers failed to duck the new tariffs that were proclaimed March 8, even though the head of the American Institute for International Steel, John Foster, had sent Trump a letter praising Turkey’s “fairly priced and high-quality steel” and urging exemption for Turkish mills.
Trump’s move involved a 25% levy on steel and 10% levy on aluminum, which the president defended as a means of protecting national security. Shortly before signing the tariffs, he pledged “great flexibility” for countries that “are real friends and treat us fairly on both trade and the military.” The initial exemptions covered Canada and Mexico, but their continuation depends partly on progress in negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, according to US officials.
Namik Ekinci, the head of Turkey’s Steel Exporters Association, believes Trump has dealt “great injustice” to Turkish manufacturers. In an interview with Al-Monitor, he explained that Turkish industries bought some 3.8 million tons of scrap steel from the United States annually and exported it back after processing, mostly as construction steel. “This poses no threat to US national security,” he said. “The United States showed great injustice and negative discrimination toward Turkey under this pretext.”
Discriminating between countries on tariffs is “unacceptable,” Ekinci said. “The exemptions granted to Canada and Mexico will push Turkey out of the game as long as this measure remains in place. This will also open a wound in US-Turkish ties that will be difficult to heal,” he said.
