Turkish steel industry faces growing pressure from surging Chinese imports, according to Tosyali Holding Chairman Fuat Tosyali. He cautioned that unchecked inflows of dumped steel threaten to undermine one of the country’s most strategic sectors, stressing that once the industry is lost, recovery is nearly impossible.
China’s slowdown in construction has pushed excess production into global markets at low prices, hitting free markets like Turkey particularly hard. While the US and Europe have moved to protect their steel industries with tariffs and quotas, Chinese products continue entering Turkey without restriction.
Producers argue that, unlike their peers in other regions, Turkish steelmakers receive no incentives due to the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) agreement, aimed to create a free trade area for these specific products, complementing the broader EU-Turkey Customs Union which entered into force in the same year for other industrial goods. Despite recent investments of more than USD 4 bln, mills are unable to operate at full capacity, with imports often priced below production costs.
Industry officials warn this is eroding domestic producers’ competitiveness and worsening the country’s trade deficit with China, which has already exceeded USD 50 bln this year, with steel accounting for a large share.
