Following the imposition of a 3.95 percent antidumping duty on cold-rolled stainless flat steel imports from China, the total tax burden on imported raw materials has increased to 16 percent with the existing 12 percent additional customs duty. After the decision, Turkish industrialists and exporters warned that rising costs would put pressure on inflation, employment, and exports, calling for tax rates to be reduced again to eight percent. Güçlü Kaplangı, chairman of Turkey’s Household and Kitchenware Federation (EVFED), stated that concluding the investigation with an additional duty would have negative impacts across many areas, from exports and production to employment and inflation.
Mr. Kaplangı emphasized that the additional duties applied to stainless steel would increase costs and be reflected in finished product prices, thereby strengthening inflationary pressure in the domestic market. He said, “Two years ago, only an eight percent additional customs duty was applied. At the point we have reached today, the total tax payable has risen to 16 percent, a 100 percent increase. In order to prevent inflation from rising, job losses, and exports from declining, the total tax should not exceed eight percent. Following the introduction of the antidumping duty, we request that the additional customs duty be reduced to four percent in the new year. Only in this way can we return to the tax levels of two years ago.”