Following the inclusion of the EU, Canada and Mexico in 25% US steel tariffs, Turkish steel exporters will in the second half of 2018 partially offset the slump in shipments to the US earlier this year, according to Turkish Steel Exporters Association (CIB) chairman Adnan Aslan.

Although Turkish exports slumped -5.1% on-year in January-May to 7.8 million tonnes, their value surged 20.2% to $5.9 billion (see Kallanish passim).

CIB anticipates that Turkish value-added steel exports will increase 30% on-year in 2018. Moreover, the association is heavily involved in large-scale steel projects in Turkey – 80% of the steel required for the TANAP pipeline has been sourced domestically, Aslan observes.

The association is looking to Southeast Asia – where Turkish exporters currently have a small market share – as a potential destination to increase exports in the face of increased protectionism in the US and EU, the chairman says. In 2017 Turkish suppliers were successful in increasing sales to Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia; however, these have subsided in 2018.