US steel tariffs cannot last: Turkish steel exporters

By Erdal Celikel and Dilara Zengin

ANKARA

A recent U.S. decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports cannot last for an extended period of time, the head of Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB) said Friday.

"The U.S. made a similar decision before, but they could [make it last] just for 11 months," Namik Kemal Ekinci told Anadolu Agency.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would impose a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminium imports as of next week.

The U.S. boasts the capacity to produce 82 million tons of steel annually and wants to raise that number to 90 million, Ekinci stated.

He added: "It cannot reach this target immediately. The U.S. will continue to import steel and exporter countries will adjust their prices accordingly."

"Trump is carrying out his election promises for the U.S. steel producers but his decision cannot be executed for a long time because there will be turmoil in the country's domestic market," he said.

He underlined that the decision covered all countries that exported steel to the U.S.

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, called the move "a blatant intervention" to protect U.S. industry".

"We strongly regret this step, which appears to represent a blatant intervention to protect the U.S. domestic industry and not to be based on any national security justification," Juncker said Thursday.

He added: "Protectionism cannot be the answer to our common problem in the steel sector."

The U.S. was the largest steel importer with 26.9 million tons of steel in the first nine months of 2017, rising 20 percent year-on-year, according to U.S. International Trade Administration data.

The U.S. imported most from Canada (16 percent) followed with Brazil (13 percent), South Korea (10 percent), Russia and Mexico (9 percent). Turkey ranks 6th with 7 percent.

Nine percent of Turkey's steel exports -- $1.2 billion, or 1.8 million tons -- went to the U.S. in 2017.

The U.S. ranks fifth worldwide in crude steel production, which rose by 4 percent to 81.6 million tons in 2017, compared to 2016, according to a World Steel Association report.

China was the top producer, with 831.7 million tons of crude steel, in 2017.

*Gokhan Ergocun in Ankara contributed to this story.