Turkey Cuts Import Tariffs on Some US Goods

Even as the trade war between US and China simmers, there’s some good news for trade relations between the US and Turkey. After the US recently decided to cut import tariffs on Turkish steel by half, Turkey has responded by reducing tariffs on a few goods imported from the US.

Turkey has announced its plans to cut tariffs on passenger cars, alcohol and tobacco products, cosmetics and PVC by half. However, the US has removed Turkey from its list of countries eligible for its GTS trade program.

Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan remains optimistic that the two countries can continue working together to boost the trade between them to $75 billion.

In August 2018, the US had doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports over diplomatic tensions. This had caused the Turkish Lira to lose a significant amount of its value back then. Turkey had imposed retaliatory tariffs on US cars, tobacco and alcohol products.