The European Union has just passed the decision to impose tariffs on China's electric vehicles, and Turkey is not far behind, directly following the trend, and will impose anti-dumping duties on some imported steel from China and other countries. Among them, China has the highest tariffs on imports.

According to foreign media reports, Turkey announced in a decision published in the Official Gazette on Friday that it would impose anti-dumping duties on some steel imports from China, Russia, India and Japan. Among them, China has the highest tariffs on imports.

Wessel Yayan, secretary general of the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD), told Reuters that the recently imposed tariffs have affected about 4 million tonnes of imported steel products, which are estimated to be worth between $2 billion and $2.2 billion.

According to the Official Gazette, the relevant authorities have investigated the import of hot-rolled coil after a complaint filed by a domestic steel producer. The findings show that so-called "steel dumping" poses a threat to domestic steel production.

According to this decision, tariffs of 15 to 43 percent will be imposed on imports from China, while tariffs of 6 to 9 percent will be imposed on imports from Russia, India and Japan. These anti-dumping duties will be implemented in addition to the original tariffs of 15% and 13% on non-alloy hot coils and alloy hot coils, respectively.

Turkey's decision comes amid escalating trade tensions between China and Turkey over tariffs on electric vehicles and other goods, after China sued Turkey at the World Trade Organization for tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

Turkey's General Import Authority (DGI) announced that from September 27, a tariff of US$25 per square meter will be imposed on PV modules from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia, and Jordan. However, Jinko's Malaysian subsidiary, JA Solar's Vietnam subsidiary, Trina Solar's Thai subsidiary, and Vina Solar, a Vietnamese module manufacturer acquired by LONGi Green Energy, were granted tariff exemptions.

In addition, the Turkish Ministry of Trade announced on November 25, 2023 that it had launched an anti-circumvention investigation into the anti-dumping case of PV modules originating in China. The purpose of the investigation is to examine whether the Chinese products involved in the case were exported to Turkey through countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia and Jordan to circumvent the previous countervailing duties of US$20 per square meter imposed on Chinese PV products.

In the field of electric vehicles, Turkey announced in March 2023 an additional 40% tariff on electric vehicles imported from China, and on June 8 it extended the scope of the additional tariff to gasoline and hybrid passenger vehicles. As the seventh largest car manufacturer in Europe, Turkey's automotive industry plays an important role in the national economy. However, there are few independent brands in the Turkish automotive industry, and many European automotive brands have set up subsidiaries and factories in Turkey.

Despite Turkey's strong support for the development of local car brands and the launch of local automaker Togg in recent years, Turkey's tariffs on Chinese cars have reached as high as 50%. According to the Turkish Ministry of Trade, the additional tariffs were imposed to increase and protect the share of domestic production and encourage domestic investment and production. However, industry insiders pointed out that this kind of high tariff barriers not only damages the economic and trade relations between China and Turkey, but also cannot really solve the problem of Turkey's weak domestic electric vehicle industry.

At the same time, Turkey's electric vehicle market is growing rapidly. According to the data of the Turkish Automobile Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD), in January ~ August this year, the sales of all-electric vehicles in Turkey soared by 94.7% to 47,032 units, and the proportion of electric vehicles in total sales also increased from 4.1% in the same period last year to 7.8%. Among them, Togg ranks first in the domestic electric vehicle market with sales of nearly 15,000 units. Regarding the increase in tariffs on imported cars from China, Turkey's trade ministry said that the additional tariffs were imposed to increase and protect the declining share of domestic production and encourage domestic investment and production.

However, some industry insiders pointed out that after Turkey imposed additional tariffs on Chinese automobiles, Turkey's auto tariffs on China have reached 50%, which not only damages the economic and trade relations between China and Turkey, but also cannot truly solve the problem of Turkey's weak local electric vehicle industry.