NEW YORK: U.S. Department of Commerce has ruled that Turkish steel exporters would be exempt from a special tariff imposed on foreign companies that receive subsidies payments, the Turkish Steel Exporters Association said in a statement Wednesday.
In accordance with the preliminary results of a probe of hot-rolled flat steel products, the U.S. Department of Commerce decided that Turkish steel producers Colakoglu and Erdemir do not receive subsidies, the statement said.
The probe was initiated on the application of American steel producers on Sept. 9. The probe reviewed companies in South Korea, Brazil and Turkey. There was a separate anti-dumping probe for imports from Australia, Japan, Netherland, U.K., South Korea, Brazil and Turkey.
“We wish to make clear at every opportunity that the Turkish steel industry does not benefit from subsidies and accusations to the contrary are unfair. This outcome once again proved the truth of our claims,” the head of the Steel Exporters Association Namik Ekinci said.
In the same probe, the Commerce Department also exempted South Korean exporters from the special tariff, but decided to apply a 7.42 percent additional customs duty to products imported from Brazil.
Ekinci said that the Commerce Department had launched probes without fair justification, and the procedure slowed or blocked trade with Turkish steel producers.
“Even we prove that we don’t take advantage of any incentive from the government, these case procedures slow our exports. We believe that U.S. authorities are influenced by pressure from local producers, and this unfair influence should cease,” Ekinci concluded.
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