Mar 20, 2015
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Saturday that a move by Turkey to impose an additional tariff of 25 percent on hand tool imports could impose an adversary impact on Taiwanese exporters.
The MOEA said that as hand tools, such as socket wrenches, vehicle repair tools, hammers, screwdrivers and building tools, are part of the unbound tariff lines of Turkey under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Taiwan will not likely seek a relief from the WTO.
The ministry said that it has informed the Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers' Association of the additional duties from Turkey and asked the association to help its members to take on the new trade barriers.
According to statistics compiled by the MOEA, Taiwan's hand tools exports to Turkey totaled US$46.55 million in 2014, up 5.47 percent from 2013, when hand tool exports to Turkey rose 4.55 percent year-on-year to US$36.88 million. In 2012, Taiwan sold US$31.03 million worth of hand tools to Turkey, up 4.01 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.
Taiwan faces another challenge resulting from the additional tariffs on hand tool sales as the country will encounter fiercer competition from its rivals, such as South Korea and the European Union and the European Free Trade Association, which have signed free trade agreements with Turkey so that they will not be affected by the new import duty, the ministry said.
The MOEA said that Taiwan's major rivals in the Turkey hand tool market are China, Germany, the United States and Japan. Among them, Germany will escape the additional tariff impact.
As Turkey has been suffering from a deficit in current accounts for years, the country has come up with trade protective measures, such as the additional tariffs on hand tool imports, according to the MOEA.
The MOEA said that under such unfavorable circumstances, the government is determined to assist Taiwanese exporters to deal with Turkey's protectionism.
In response to the additional tariffs on hand tool imports, the ministry said that Taiwan will keep expressing its concerns to Turkey through every possible channel. In 2014, Taiwan's exports to Turkey totaled US$1.7 billion, making Ankara the 21st largest buyer of Taiwanese exporters, and Taipei enjoyed a trade surplus of US$1.5 billion, according the MOEA.
The ministry said Turkey with a population of more than 76 million has become one of the markets Taiwan is gearing up to tap.
Source: The China Post