According to definitive measures introduced by the EU on February 2, countries who use up the import quota can use the quotas of other countries who have not exhausted their quotas. So Turkish long steel exporters who almost use up their quota for long steel now eye other countries’ quota.
Speaking to BloombergHT columnist Ceren Dilekçi, Uğur Dalbeler, general manager of Turkish steel producer Çolakoğlu Metalurji, stated, “The EU is our largest market, with a market share of almost 45 percent which will shrink to 35 percent. There is a big potential for rebar in the EU, but we will lose it completely. The import quota allocated to Turkey is less than one tenth of what we can accomplish. The first 180 days started as of February 2 and the quota was used up in just two days. With the EU and the US, the two largest markets for global steel imports, being shut down, this affects our competitiveness in other export markets and hampers the volumes and value of our export potential. It is unlikely that Turkey will reach 2018 export figures under the current circumstances.”
In a report published in Turkish daily Dünya, Dalbeler drew attention to the loads of non-standard Iranian rebar entering Turkey, which lack the TSE quality certificate. “10 percent import duty is being imposed on Iranian steel, though new measures are necessary,” Dalbeler said.