The World Trade Organization (WTO) has agreed to establish a panel to examine Turkey’s complaint regarding the countervailing duties (CVDs) imposed by the US on imports of certain pipe and tube products, including OCTG, from Turkey, as announced by the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB).
According to the CIB’s statement, in March this year Turkey notified the WTO Secretariat that it requests WTO dispute consultations with the US alleging that certain substantive and methodological aspects of the determinations and the imposition of the countervailing duties were inconsistent with the WTO's agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures and the general agreement on tariffs and trade. After the consultations between the two countries held on April 28, Turkey requested the WTO to establish a panel.
CIB chairman Namık Ekinci stated that, contrary to the claims made by the US, there is no government-owned steel producer in Turkey and unfortunately the US authorities’ decision to impose CVDs on imports of certain pipe and tube products from Turkey was influenced by political pressures. Mr. Ekinci also stated that the CIB is in favor of fair trade in accordance with the WTO rules.