ISTANBUL, Turkey – April 8, 2025 — Veysel Yayan, Secretary General of the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (TCUD), has called for tighter control over steel imports, warning that current import levels are not sustainable given Turkey’s growing production capabilities. His remarks were delivered at the Eurometal Steel Day & YISAD Flat Steel Conference, held at the Istanbul Marriott Hotel Asia in cooperation with SteelOrbis.
Dr. Yayan began by noting that Turkey’s 3.2% economic growth in 2024 reflects relative stability, driven by positive trends in the construction sector, while manufacturing’s negative impact was limited.
He pointed out that Turkey’s steel exports in 2024 benefited from global trade disruptions, such as Red Sea shipping bottlenecks and EU sanctions on Russia and Belarus, which opened up new market opportunities. However, he cautioned that these conditions may not hold in the near future.
“The Turkish steel industry grew by 9.4% in 2024,” Yayan stated. “We can compete with free-market economies, but not with China.”
He stressed that China remains a dominant force, producing over half of the world’s steel and selling at $120–130/mt below Turkish prices, which he deemed unsustainable and reflective of systematic global market dominance.
According to worldsteel, Turkey ranked seventh globally in crude steel production in early 2025, despite a 3.7% production decline, rising one spot from the previous year.
On flat steel, Yayan noted that Turkey produced 16.7 million mt in 2024, with 2.8 million mt produced in the first two months of 2025. He emphasized that this is well below Turkey’s actual production capacity of 25 million mt, with new capacity projects also underway.
“If Turkey can capture its domestic market, it can survive without exports. Imports at current levels are neither logical nor beneficial,” Yayan asserted.
In 2024:
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Flat steel consumption reached 19 million mt
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Exports totaled 5.8 million mt
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Imports stood at 8.1 million mt
Yayan stated that 90% of imported flat steel could be supplied domestically, and flagged a disturbing export-to-import ratio of 52.7% in early 2025.
He criticized Turkey’s inward processing regime (IPR), arguing that it undermines domestic production by enabling duty-free imports, even for products where Turkey has sufficient capacity.
“We’ve moved beyond the phase where domestic supply was unavailable,” he said. “Allowing excessive foreign currency outflows under current conditions is unreasonable.”
Between 2021 and 2024:
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Imports from China rose from 1.3 million mt to 2.3 million mt
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South Korean imports doubled
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Russian imports, though halted due to anti-dumping duties, have recently surged again
Despite anti-dumping actions, imports remain high due to the IPR loophole, Yayan emphasized, adding:
“Exporting under IPR without addressing real industrial needs turns trade into a target itself, rather than supporting industrialization.”
As global competition intensifies, Yayan urged policymakers to reform trade mechanisms and focus on strengthening domestic production, especially in flat steel, where Turkey already has strong potential.
VietnamSteel by Hoa Sen Group
