US imposes additional 12.5 percent tariff on Turkish apparel

ISTANBUL

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has announced additional customs duties of 10 percent or 12.5 percent on imports from 60 trading partners following investigations conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 concerning the prohibition and enforcement of restrictions on goods produced through forced labour.

For Türkiye, the additional tariff rate has been set at 12.5 percent, a decision that carries significant implications for the country’s textile and apparel industry.

According to a report by business daily Ekonomi, a draft decision released in June had indicated that tariff-rate quotas could be introduced for textile and apparel products from certain countries. The Turkish industry had expected that Turkey might be included in the scheme.

However, the final decision specifically named only Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia as beneficiaries of tariff-rate quotas for textile and apparel exports.

Exports shipped to the United States within the designated quotas from those countries will not be subject to the Section 301 tariff. Türkiye was excluded from the mechanism.

As a result, Turkish manufacturers exporting textile and apparel products to the United States will face a direct 12.5 percent additional Section 301 tariff.

Although the decision has entered into force, the technical details of its implementation have not yet been finalized.

Industry representatives are awaiting Federal Register regulations from the USTR that will clarify which products may qualify for exemptions, which products will be covered by the tariff-rate quotas, and the quota volumes that will apply.