In a letter written to the US President Donald Trump, John D. Foster, chairman of the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), on behalf of all the United States manufacturers that use fairly priced and high quality steel imported from Turkey, has requested that Turkish mills be exempted from any Section 232 tariffs or quotas.
“As a steel importer for over 30 years, I have found the steel mills in Turkey to be privately held and often family owned businesses that pride themselves in their cost effectiveness and ability to compete globally, fairly and on a level playing field. Thousands of downstream jobs are dependent on this competitively priced steel from Turkey,” said Foster.
Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association chairman Namık Ekinci has said that the AIIS letter is an important development for the Turkish steel industry, indicating that tariffs only make steel producers in the US happy, as they will benefit from higher profit margins.