In the joint statement issued by 10 different non-governmental organizations formed by Turkish companies that process and use stainless steel, it has been underlined that high customs duties and possible antidumping measures would negatively affect thousands of domestic businesses. According to the statement, as there is not enough local stainless steel capacity in Turkey, and the 20 percent duty requested within the scope of the antidumping investigation against stainless steel products originating from China, Indonesia and Taiwan has raised concerns in the stainless steel-using industries, which already face difficult conditions amid increasing costs. The customs duty - which was increased from eight percent to 12 percent for the product in question on December 31, 2023 - increased costs and caused a negative impact on the competitiveness of many sectors using stainless steel.
“European and South Korean companies, which are not subject to customs duty, will also increase their product prices in line with the duty increase, as before. Therefore, foreign exchange outflows abroad will continue in high amounts. Turkey’s real sector and economy will suffer the greatest damage from this increase,” the statement noted. The organizations requested that the customs duty on stainless steel products be reduced to zero for the sake of the future of the industries, as well as requesting the rejection of the antidumping investigation application.
Meanwhile, Turkey-based POSCO Assan TST, a joint venture between Kibar Holding and South Korean steel producer POSCO, stated that dumped stainless steel imports threaten local production and that safeguard measures should be implemented to prevent unfair competition, claiming that Turkey has become an open market for the Asian countries which cannot sell to the EU and the US, as SteelOrbis previously reported.