Donald Trump reduced tariffs on Turkish steel imports Thursday from 50 percent to 25 percent, citing what he said were necessary import reductions.
‘FINANCIAL BALANCE WILL BE ACHIEVED’
That will put tariffs at the level they were at before the president decided to double them last August amid tensions over a since-freed American pastor who was detained in Turkey. During that time, the US and Turkey imposed reciprocal tariffs on a number of goods, including Turkish steel and aluminum.
Trump said in his proclamation that imports of steel products from Turkey declined 48 percent in 2018, “with the result that the domestic industry’s capacity utilization has improved at this point to approximately the target level recommended” by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. That level, Trump said, “will improve the financial viability” of the US steel industry in the long term. “Given these improvements, I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to remove the higher tariff on steel imports from Turkey,” Trump said. His proclamation said that maintaining the 25 percent tariffs remains “necessary,” however.
