Turkey will impose a 40% additional tariff on imports of vehicles from China. This step aims to prevent a possible deterioration of the country’s current account balance and protect domestic automakers.
The decision was announced by the Turkish Trade Ministry on June 8th. China has been facing increasing trade pressures from around the world due to its growing exports of electric vehicles.
Many countries claim that these exports are heavily subsidized by Beijing to support the country’s struggling economy. The European Commission is expected to announce next week whether it will impose provisional extra tariffs.
The additional Turkish tariff will take effect from July 7th and will be set at a minimum of 7,000 USD per vehicle. This decision was published in the country’s Official Gazette.
The Turkish Trade Ministry said in a statement that the additional tariff will be imposed on the import of conventional and hybrid passenger vehicles from China.
The goal is to increase and protect the decreasing share of domestic production. The ministry also stated that the decision was made taking into account current account deficit targets and efforts to encourage domestic investment and production.
According to the decision, if the 40% tariff calculated from the price of an imported vehicle is less than 7,000 USD, then the minimum tariff of 7,000 USD will be charged. In 2023, Turkey had already imposed additional tariffs on electric vehicle imports from China and introduced some regulations regarding EV maintenance and services.
The government is actively encouraging more production and exports to reduce the chronic current account deficit, which stood at 45.2 billion USD last year.
Reuters
