In an interview with Turkish daily Dunya regarding the effects of the Section 232 investigation in the US, the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB) chairman Namık Ekinci stated that, if the US imposes measures on steel imports, approximately 2.2 million mt of steel products exported to the US from Turkey would stay in the domestic market and the Turkish steel industry would receive a serious blow, adding that such a situation could cause some steel plants to shut down and lay off workers.
According to Mr. Ekinci, in 2016 Turkey’s steel exports to the US amounted to 2.23 million mt with a value of $1.22 billion. Meanwhile, in 2016 Turkey imported about three million mt of scrap from the US, ranking as the leading importer of US scrap. Accordingly, Mr. Ekinci stated that problems in the economic relations of the two countries, which have significant commercial interactions, harm both Turkey and the US.