Turkey postpones imposition of higher duties on flats imports to April

According to an announcement published in the country’s Official Gazette, Turkey has decided to postpone the imposition of the increased import duties on flat steel products. The additional duties announced on January 27 as entering into force on March 1 are now expected to come into force on April 1. 

The market was waiting for this postponement as re-rollers have received decent demand from the local market, mostly earthquake-related, namely for container housing units, supply of energy generation facilities, and repairs of damaged systems, etc. However, last week the market was discussing the possibility of the postponement of the higher import duties by three to six months. The delay of the imposition of the higher duties is not expected to lead to any additional purchases, as there is no flat steel material available in the global market for delivery before April 1. “Nothing will change for new deals, as currently May delivery is the earliest there is,” a supplier told SteelOrbis. 

The measure will allow buyers to receive previously booked import tonnages at current duty rates, which also means they will avoid additional payments if they cannot perform the corresponding exports of their products. 

Meanwhile, although the mills in the earthquake-hit region are gradually resuming production, supply is still naturally insufficient. 

The new import duty rates to come into force on April 1 can be seen in the table below.