The Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association (CIB), a business association of producers and exporters in the Turkish steel industry, announced in a release Tuesday its opposition to recent and expected anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) petitions by US steel producers against certain Turkish steel imports. The complaints brought before the US Department of Commerce are the latest in a slew of cases filed over the last several years and are part of what the CIB considers a coordinated campaign to bar Turkish imports and inhibit free and fair trade.
In an effort to stem the tide of perpetual and unproductive litigation against its member companies, the CIB strongly urges the Turkish Ministry of Economy to move forward with its plans to appeal a previous case to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The announcement of support comes today, as CIB is hopeful that the WTO will provide a more objective venue to adjudicate claims against Turkish producers without bias or political influence.
“The Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association vehemently denies any claims that Turkish steel imports benefit from unfair pricing models,” said CIB President Namik Ekinci. “Acting in compliance with WTO rules, Turkey is a strong proponent of fair trade and is against the export of dumped or subsidized products. As a longtime ally of the United States, it is disheartening to see these accusations brought forward, which only aims to complicate and hinder global trade, not improve it. These cases have been opened unfairly, as US steel producers have manipulated trade processes and WTO standards in order to ban exports and impose frequent protectionist rules that will only damage the domestic industry, rather than help it. The regretful 2014 OCTG ruling by the Department of Commerce has given way for additional unfair filings by the US industry, as seen with this recent petition and a number of petitions expected to roll in. It is our hope that the WTO will agree and set a new precedent for the future of US-Turkey trade relations.”
On July 22, US steel producers filed a complaint against Turkish imports of heavy-walled rectangular carbon steel pipes and tubes, and are expected to file an additional petition against Turkish imports of hot-rolled coil in mid-August. Even more, major US steel producers have just filed complaints on cold-rolled coil imports from China and several other countries.
While Turkey is not included in cold-rolled coil filing, the CIB considers these the latest attempts by the US industry to use the AD/CVD process to bar foreign imports from the US market. The CIB expects to see an increase in the number of cases filed.
The recent filings follow a 2014 ruling, in which the Department of Commerce imposed AD/CVD on certain oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Turkey. As part of the International Trade Commission’s decision in the 2014 case, the Department of Commerce concluded that Erdemir, Turkey’s largest industrial conglomerate, is a state-controlled business. The CIB is confident that the WTO process will instead validate Canada’s Border Services Agency’s conclusion that Erdemir is a private company that operates and functions according to commercial principles consistent with the behavior expected of a profit-driven steel company, responsible to its public shareholders.