Export: Türkiye increases import restrictions even further

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Turkey Skyline

Two weeks ago the Turkish government announced that import taxes were increased on products ranging from chemicals to machinery. It was a response to the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is trying to protect the country’s industrial producers.

Even stricter import restrictions

Turkey’s Finance Minister Berat Albayrak told representatives of the state-owned Anadolu news agency, that there will be stricter measures for the import of goods, other than strategic goods and products that Türkiye is not able to produce themselves.

Arab News reports:

“Imports will be very difficult from now on. Except for what we cannot produce domestically, imports will not be as easy as before,” Albayrak said last week.

Türkiye increased customs taxes by 30 per cent during the outbreak and said it will add customs taxes to about 800 products, particularly those used by the automotive industry.

On Sunday, Ankara levied up to 14 per cent additional duties on some types of steel imports.

Will There Be Trouble With the EU?

The measures Türkiye is taking are against one of the most important conditions of the Europe Union Customs Union that Turkey is a part of: the common external tariff. Sinan Ulgen, a former diplomat and chairman of Istanbul’s Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies think tank, told Arab News:

“What this measure could do is essentially create a trade diversion whereby these products now start to enter Turkey from the EU as opposed to being directly imported. As a result, Turkey would lose all tariff revenues because the EU would get the tariff revenues on these products.”

The question also is, if countries that are affected by these protectionist measures will retaliate.

Arab News concludes:

Türkiye’s trade has been hit by the pandemic, with imports in April dropping by 28 per cent to almost $12.9 billion, and the foreign trade deficit standing at $3.4 billion.

Read the full article here.

The Impact on Your Business

If you want to know if your business is affected by these measures, check the European Commission’s Market Access Database to see if your products are impacted.

Exporting to Türkiye

If you have customers in Turkey or want to start exporting to Turkey, we have a team of specialists to support you with that. Whether it is the creation of ATR documents or assistance with other documentation or permits you may need to ship your goods to Turkey without issues.

Contact one of our specialists if you have any questions. Take the load off your mind.