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Steel from Turkey
Turkey has been a member of European Union customs union since 1995, although it is not a EU member. This means that most of goods produced or released to free circulation in Turkey can be imported with zero duty.
Goods not included in customs union:
- agricultural products,
- coal and steel products.
Steel from Turkey
Turkey is one of the leading steel producers in the world – in 2021 it was ranked 7th among all countries in terms of the amount of steel produced (behind China, India, Japan, USA, Russia, South Korea). In 2021, as much as 40,4 million tons of steel were produced in this country. It is known for its high quality, surpassing the quality of steel from China, Russia, Italy and Germany, and an attractive price. The country has greatly developed thanks to this industry. There are currently over 100 steel mills operating in Turkey. Direct employment in this sector exceeds 100,000. people, while indirect employment is about 500,000.
Steel production in Turkey over the past 25 years.
In a broad perspective, steel production is steadily increasing. Over the past 25 years, new productions facilities have been opened and existing steel mills have expanded significantly, increasing the amount of produced goods.
Steel production in Turkey in 2022.
Last year has been difficult one for many European countries. Rising energy prices led to an increase in production costs and decrease in the amount of steel produced. Despite this, Turkish steel is still attractive in terms of price for European customers.
Duty and VAT for steel from Turkey
In most cases, imports from Turkey are treated as intra-Community acquisition of goods, for which zero duty applies. Importers should be especially vigilant in case of coal and steel products. The amount of duty imposed on a given product may vary depending on the mill where it was produced.
Before starting the procedure, all importers interested in importing steel should carefully check, whether and how much duty he will have to pay for steel from Turkey and verify, what documents will be necessary to carry out customs clearance. It is really important to ensure that all formalities are met so as not to incur unnecessary costs or to be forced to pay customs duties according to rates for third countries.
The VAT rate on steel from Turkey in Poland is 8% or 23% – but usually it is higher. The VAT rate can be checked at the ISZTAR Customs Tariff Information Service. For this purpose, the importer should know the customs code of steel, that he wants to import.
The above rates apply to one type of steel, with customs code 7213 91 49 00 – bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils, of iron or non-alloy steel, containing more than 0.06% by weight but less than 0.25% by weight of carbon.
Additional code V020 – includes medical devices, accessories of medical devices, etc., while code V999 – others. Therfore, when importing steel bars with a given carbon content, which are not medical devices, importer must pay 23% VAT.
Anty-dumping duty
In addition to the regular duty, steel from Turkey may also be subject to anti-dumping measures or additional trade defenses measures.
Dumping occurs when products are sold outside the country at a price lower than the cost of production or average cost of product in a given country of destination. To protect European producers, the EU imposed additional anti-dumping duties and trade defenses measures on steel from Turkey.
The rate of the definitive anti-dumping duty varies depending on the company where the steel comes from.
Since 2018, the European Union has also imposed additional safeguards on certain steel products imported from Turkey (as well as from several other countries where steel is very affordable for European consumers). Tariff quotas were established for 26 groups of steel products (which were investigated by the European Commission). After exceeding these quotas, importer have to pay an additional duty, which is as much as 25%.
A tariff quota determines how much of a given product can be imported into a country at lower import duties. Often the rate for the quota is 0%, but if a larger amount of goods is imported into the country and the importer wants to release the goods for free circulation, he is forced to pay a fixed amount of duty. However, if the buyer is able to wait until a new quota opens (usually they are set on a quarterly basis), he can deposit his goods in the Temporary Storage Warehouse. Goods can be temporarily stored, without the need to pay customs duties, for up to 90 days. Then it must be released for free ciculation or transferred to the Temporary Storage Warehouse. It should be remembered that storing steel in a Temporary Storage Warehouse also costs – the owner of such a warehouse is obliged to secure the amount of customs and tax duties for the time of storage of our goods. The importer does not have to cover these duties himself, therefore he is charged a fee for each day of storage.
All documents that regulate additional duties and safeguard measures, with detailed explanations and a complete list of customs codes and quota volumes, can be found on the European Union Legislation Database website https://eur-lex.europa.eu.
Steel producers in Turkey
Çolakoğlu Metalurji
The company’s headquarters is in Istanbul, while the production facilities are located in Dilovasi/Kocaeli by the Sea of Marmara. The company has been operating since 1945 and produces high-quality flat products and reinforcing bars for the domestic market and export. It is equipped with one of the world’s largest arc furnaces and is one of the most advanced steel production facilities in the world.
Port of Çolakoğlu Metalurji
Located at the production plant, the port is one of the largest transshipment places for bulk and general cargo in the northern region of the Sea of Marmara. The handling capacity is 7 million tons per year, and the products manufactured by Çolakoğlu Metalurji leaving the port are transported to more than 80 different countries.
Erdemir
Erdemir, the main company of OYAK Mining Metallurgy, was established in 1960 by special law to become the first domestic producer of flat bars that the Turkish industry needed at that time. Currently, this facility produces flat, hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheets, steel sheets coated with tin, chrome and zinc, as well as basic components for the automotive, household appliances, electrical and electronics industries, and many other industries.
Port of Erdemir
The port handles all types of cargo and is Turkey’s gateway to the world from the Black Sea, with a total handling capacity of 20 million tons. The port handles the export/import of iron and steel mills to/from Ereğli, third parties and other industrial organizations in the periphery.
İsdemir
İsdemir, next company belonging to OYAK Mining Metallurgy, is the third largest integrated iron and steel plant in Turkey in terms of long products production capacity. It was founded in 1970 on the southern coast of Turkey in the Payas region on the Mediterranean Sea. İsdemir produces long products such as ingots, slabs, billets and structural steel, and since 2008 also flat products – billets, coils, hot rolled coils and slabs.
Port of İsdemir
İsdemir Port is the largest port for bulk and general cargo in the Mediterranean region. It is located in the bay of Iskenderun and has a direct connection to the national railway system.
The port of İsdemir meets all the needs of the factory and with a significant part of its capabilities serves the industry and trade of the country and the surrounding area.
Habas Sinai Ve Tibbi Gazlar Istihsal Endustrisi A.S.
Habas steel and iron mill started operation in 1987 in Aliağa/İzmir. Over the years, it has been transformed into a modern steel production base through continuous development of technology and modern machinery. As part of the expansion of the investment, in 2008 a bar rolling mill was launched, and in 2014 a sheet rolling mill.
The products offered by the Habas group are billets, sheets, sheets in coils, wire rod and bars.
Port of Habas
Habaş Port Management Inc., one of the Habaş Group companies, operates the port located south of the entrance to Nemrut Bay. It is 7 km from the Habaş Iron and Steel Works. The goods handled in the port are mainly scrap (import) and finished steel products (export).
Agir Haddecilik
Borçelik
The plant started production in 1984 in Akçakoca, and in 2010 also in Dilovası. Initially, its goal was the production of patterned sheets, but over the years, the range of products offered became wider and wider. Currently, the products offered by Agir Haddecilik include: rhomboid and tear-shaped sheets, hot-rolled sheets, hot and cold-rolled coils, expanded metal sheets, galvanized coils as well as pipes and profiles.
Borçelik is the first privately owned flat steel producer in Turkey, which started operations in 1990 with the aim of replacing imports of these products. Currently, it is the largest manufacturer of galvanized sheet in this country.
The company’s offer includes products such as: hot-rolled sheets, cold-rolled flat products and galvanized sheets.
Akim Metal
Karaca Metal
It is a facility in Tuzla – Istanbul, for 45 years dealing with metal processing, manufacturing components using the injection method, manufacturing engines (not on a mass scale, but according to customer needs) and manufacturing electronic components.
The metal injection plant was established in 2005 and has been equipped with the latest, innovative machinery and equipment in aluminum casting technology.
Alcas Metal was founded in 1991 in Güneşli / Bağcılar. It is a company dealing in the production of aluminum profiles in the amount of 34 thousand tons per year, with dimensions from 5mm to 410 mm DN. It exports 85% of its production to 34 countries, mainly Europe and America.
Alcas Metal - company producing aluminium products
Karaca Metal has been operating on the Turkish market since 1984 and produces many different types of steel products, such as sheets, profiles, pipes, rolled products, structural profiles and steel meshes.
They also offer special services such as pipe cutting, plate cutting, plate bending, profile cutting, coil cutting and coil slitting.
Necessary documents for steel import from Turkey
Although Turkey belongs to the EU Customs Union and there is zero duty on most products, the import procedure is similar to other non-EU countries.
In order to import steel from Turkey and carry out customs clearance in Poland, the following documents must be attached to the declaration:
- import invoice – commercial invoice or proforma, issued by the seller,
- waybill,
- packing list – it is mandatory when invoice does not meet the function of the specification,
- certificate of origin
- ATR certificate (Admission Temporaire Roulette) – the application of preferential duty rates requires a proof that imported goods come from Turkey. A.TR documet is such proof and it is necessary for trade between UE and Turkey (important note – A.TR is not equal with a certificate of origin)
- EUR1, EUR-MED certificate or invoice declaration – these documents are required for import steel products,
- documents confirming preferential status of the goods – withouth them, importer may be forced to pay customs duty according to rates for third countries,.
- certificate specyfing raw material composition of the goods – if it is necessary to determine the tariff category.
The document necessary to apply the preferential duty rate (0%) for goods not covered by the customs union, i.e. steel is certified EUR 1.
Before buying and importing steel from Turkey, it is worth carefully verifying the steelworks/company from which we want to buy goods.
Steel transport from Turkey – types of transport
The location of Turkey gives us many opportunities when it comes to transporting goods.
This country has approx. 8,000 km of coastline and many seaports, from which there are many connections to European ports.
Between Turkey and Poland there is a indirect sea connections – ships from several Turkish ports (Aliaga, Antalya, Gebze, Gemlik, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin, Samsun, Tekirdag, Trabzon) arrive at the port of Gdynia, withs stops ate the ports of Antwerp (BE) and/or Bremerhaven (DE) earlier.
Turkey’s connection to the European continent also enables the transport of goods by rail and road. There are regular, direct rail connections between the Turkish and Polish terminals.
Certainly, the best financial solution is sea freight – this type of transport is slower than rail or truck, but the most profitable for importer, especially for the large loads.
What information should be included in the request for transport steel fromTurkey
When submitting a request for the steel transport, please include the following information:
- name of the goods with the CN/NHM code,
- quantity,
- how is it packed – weight and dimensions,
- place of dispatch and destination,
- which production facility steel comes from,
- when the transport will be carry out,
- importer details,
- information, on what Incoterms 2020 base transport will be carry out.
It is worth to send any documents that will help in customs tariff verification and preparing to customs clearance.
An experienced team of TSL Silesia forwarders will help you to find the best means of transporting steel from Turkey at the best price and provide support with customs clearance.
We invite you to send inquiries about steel import from Turkey.
- Wiktoria Turłajewa
- Marketing Manager
- kom. +48 608 675 834
- tel. +48 32 282 90 62 ext. 21
- v.turlaieva@tsl-silesia.com.pl
- Liudmyla Zakreva
- Junior Freight Forwarder
- kom. +48 516 284 883
- tel. +48 32 282 90 62 ext. 22
- l.zakreva@tsl-silesia.com.pl