The comparatively decrease 10% baseline tariff that the United States has utilized to Türkiye amid a latest salvo of levies on different international locations appears to be at Ankara’s “advantage” as for now, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz stated Saturday.
Along with the baseline tariff that took impact on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump has introduced greater levies on items from 57 bigger companions, together with China, the European Union, Vietnam and Japan, which might be resulting from begin subsequent week.
The determination to not impose such levies on Türkiye “seems to be to our advantage as for now, for access to the American market,” Yılmaz instructed an interview with CNN Türk.
“Mr. Trump’s latest decisions are very, very important. How will other countries react to this? The European Union, China, other countries … We need to follow this closely,” he elaborated.
“They have decided to respond. Trump also said, ‘I am open to negotiations.’ What will these negotiations be? We need to follow their results,” he added.
Moreover, he touched upon the tariffs on iron, metal and stated: “There were already tariffs on iron, steel and aluminum (exports from Türkiye to the U.S.). When (the U.S.) imposed similar tariffs on the others, there was an equalization there, it was in our favor.”
However, the vice chairman additionally warned that these rising tariffs may trigger different international locations promoting items to the American market to enter different markets extra aggressively, and this will likely have oblique results.
“We need to be careful in terms of competition, we may have difficulty. Therefore, we need to look for new markets,” he stated.
At the identical time, Yılmaz stated that as an importer, Türkiye would additionally profit from a drop in worldwide commodity costs, together with oil, following Trump’s announcement.
The oil costs have been comparatively decrease within the latest interval, and the worldwide demand outlook stays subdued, with analysts predicting that crude costs are unlikely to return to $80 per barrel within the foreseeable future.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat earlier on Friday stated that the Turkish authorities wished to barter with the U.S. to carry the ten% in new tariffs.
He known as them the “best of the worst,” given greater tariffs on many different international locations. Vietnam, as a serious exporter to the United States, for instance, was slapped with 47% tariffs, whereas diamond maker Botswana took a success of 38% and even Israel, as one in all Washington’s key allies, was focused with a 17% levy.
“We want to discuss the issue in negotiations with the U.S. Department of Commerce and Trade Representative … since there is a $2.4 billion surplus in favor of the U.S. in trade between the two countries for 2024,” Bolat stated.
Central financial institution reserves
Yılmaz, within the interview, additionally evaluated different latest developments, together with the Ukraine struggle, Syria, inflation and the central financial institution’s reserves.
The central financial institution’s reserves are at “a sufficient level,” he stated, explaining that markets, which lately skilled volatility, have stabilized.
He talked about that the financial administration gave the mandatory messages concerning the newest developments and that each one establishments took measures in coordination.
“Therefore, there is an impact, but this impact is mostly an impact formed through expectations and risk perceptions in financial markets. This is also short-term. I believe that the impacts of this should not be exaggerated,” he stated.
The vice chairman additionally stated that Türkiye has achieved a 37.4-point decline in inflation over the previous 10 months.
“We are not saying there is no price increase, but the rate of increase is declining,” he stated, pointing to the plans for medium-term targets, together with targets to succeed in single digits by 2027.
“Regarding food, this year, we have given the most to irrigation investments, and this is a deliberate choice. We wanted to increase our production with irrigation, increase supply and decrease prices. In housing and rent, we are preparing for a serious social housing mobilization,” he added.
Turkish annual inflation slowed to 38.1% in March, official information revealed on Thursday, marking the continuation of the downward development.
Source: www.dailysabah.com