The increased import duties on flat steel products in Turkey came into effect on May 1. Additional import duties on non-alloy hot-rolled steel coils were increased from 9% to 15%, while hot-rolled steel coils were raised from 6% to 13%.

Import duties on sheets have been raised by 9%, 10% and 15% to reach 15-20%, while those on non-alloy cold-rolled steel coils have been increased from 10% to 17%.

The import duty on galvanized and coated steel coils is 20%. However, both hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel coils remained unchanged.

The imposition of the duty increase, which was set to take effect on March 1, was postponed several times to April 1 and then to May 1, as additional demand for hot-rolled steel flats for housing construction emerged after the February 6 earthquakes.