04.04.2025 08:50
The first response to the United States' decision to impose additional customs duties from Turkey came from Trade Minister Ömer Bolat. In his statement, Bolat said, "The reality is that additional customs duties imposed on any country can lead to serious disruptions in bilateral relations with the U.S., as well as in their own markets and export markets."
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Trade Minister Ömer Bolat pointed out that our country is among the group of countries with the lowest additional tax applied in US tariffs, stating that they want to address the issue of removing customs duties imposed on exported products in negotiations with the US Department of Commerce and the Trade Representative.
An announcement made on the official social media account of the Ministry of Commerce included Bolat's evaluations. In his assessment, Bolat stated the following:
As previously announced by US President Trump, a new trade policy based on the principle of reciprocity was implemented with the announcement made on April 2, 2025, and higher additional customs tariffs to be applied to various countries were announced.
In the US announcement, it is stated that with these "additional taxes" imposed on countries facing high external trade deficits and encountering obstacles such as tariffs, the aim is to revitalize US industry, reduce the external trade deficit, and direct foreign investments to the US.
"OUR COUNTRY IS AMONG THE GROUP OF COUNTRIES WITH THE LOWEST ADDITIONAL TAXES"
In this context, the minimum additional customs duty rate to be applied by the US to all countries has been set at 10%, and our country has also been subjected to additional customs duties at the same 10% rate for imports. In this situation, our country is among the group of countries with the lowest additional taxes.
On the other hand, additional customs duties announced by the US for China are 34%, for the European Union 20%, for Vietnam 46%, for Malaysia 24%, for Pakistan 29%, for South Korea 25%, for India 26%, for Japan 24%, for Thailand 36%, for Cambodia 49%, and for South Africa 30%. In particular, the high customs duties imposed on East Asian countries, where the US's external trade deficit has increased, draw attention.
President Trump announced that he is open to discussions with all countries regarding these high customs duties.
"WE WILL INCREASE COOPERATION WITH A WIN-WIN PRINCIPLE"
With President Trump's new implementations, it is expected that the process of change in global supply chains will accelerate. In this context, our country will intensify its trade activities towards the US in the upcoming period and will increase cooperation within the "win-win" principle by making accurate assessments in the new trade order that customs tariffs will create. The reality is that every country subjected to additional customs duties may experience serious disruptions in bilateral relations with the US, as well as in their own markets and export markets.
In this direction, as Turkey, in addition to our comprehensive action plans such as the "Distant Countries Strategy," we will also begin to implement our preparations for various sectors such as textiles, ready-to-wear, and machinery. As a result of these implementations, opportunities will arise for further liberalization of trade between Turkey and the US.
"A NECESSARY DIALOGUE HAS BEEN INITIATED IN THE NEW ERA WITH THE US, WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS A TRADE VOLUME TARGET OF 100 BILLION DOLLARS"
• Starting from January of this year, we are closely monitoring all decisions implemented by the US administration and maintaining our dialogue with the US side at all levels. Following the phone call between our President and President Trump, our Deputy Minister of Trade held a meeting with the Deputy US Trade Representative. In this meeting, the roadmap for our commercial and economic relations with the US, issues related to resolving mutual problems in trade, and new steps to be taken were discussed. Additionally, it was decided that the next meeting of the Trade and Investment Council (TIFA) to increase trade and investment cooperation between the two countries would be held as soon as possible. Personally, I will participate in the Turkish-American Conference in Washington D.C. in mid-May, and on this occasion, I will hold official talks for a joint action plan in line with the agreed goals with the US Secretary of Commerce and the US Trade Representative (USTR).
• Our trade relations with the US are growing. Our trade volume with the US is expected to increase by 4.7% to 35.2 billion dollars in 2024. The share of the US in our exports in 2024 is 6.2%, making it the second-largest country we export to. The US has a surplus of 2.4 billion dollars in our mutual foreign trade in 2024. Our efforts to reach the 100 billion dollar trade target set during the first term of our President and President Trump will continue uninterrupted.
"WE CONSIDER IT THE BEST OF THE WORST"
• As Turkey, we strive to develop trade and economic cooperation with all countries, including the US, in a balanced manner within the framework of the win-win principle. In the upcoming period, we will intensify contacts to increase our commercial and economic relations with the US and take steps that will facilitate and strengthen this process on a sectoral basis.
• Since there is a surplus of 2.4 billion dollars in foreign trade between the two countries for 2024, we want to address the issue of removing the 10% additional customs duties imposed on products exported from Turkey to the US in negotiations with the US Department of Commerce and the Trade Representative. The US President had already stated yesterday that they are open to discussions regarding these taxes.
• On the other hand, we consider the situation where the US imposes much higher customs duty rates on many countries as a somewhat "best of the worst" situation from Turkey's perspective.
• In light of the new developments that emerged yesterday, we will continue our trade relations with the US in this principle and carry out our efforts to increase the economic relations between the two countries.
Details are coming...
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