Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat has announced that they will actively continue to employ effective defense policy tools supporting producers and exporters, along with the updated import regime, to bolster exports.
In a social media post, Bolat reminded that in 2023, Turkey’s imports decreased by 1% compared to 2022, amounting to $361.8 billion.
Highlighting a 3.2% reduction in the trade deficit during the same period, Bolat indicated that, thanks to the measures taken in foreign trade policy since August of the previous year, imports have entered a declining trend on an annual basis. Bolat emphasized that, from July 2023 onwards, the export-to-import ratio has steadily increased, reaching 79% in December 2023.
Bolat stated that they have implemented 197 proactive import measures and effective defense tools, with 52 investigations still ongoing.
“We have concluded 77 investigations” Minister Bolat reported that the Ministry has concluded 161 anti-dumping, 11 safeguard, and 77 investigations against the nullification of measures, aiming to protect companies in various sectors such as iron-steel, textiles, apparel, petrochemicals, paper, and solar panels from unfair competition and harm. He added that further examinations are underway.
Attributing the decline in imports to the drop in international energy prices and effective measures against unfair practices in the second half of the previous year, especially in the import of products like gold, automotive, steel, textiles, and apparel, Bolat emphasized their commitment to providing additional protection for various products in trade, based on the needs of producer and exporter sectors.
Bolat concluded by stating, “We will continue to actively use international trade policy defense tools in accordance with the rules, prioritizing production and employment in our country, to protect our domestic producers and, consequently, our exports against unfair competition and harm. We will actively continue to use the effective defense policy tools supporting our producers and exporters, along with the updated import regime, in 2024.
source: aa.com.tr / prepared by Melisa Beğiç