By Bosphorus News Economy Desk
The United States' 12.5 percent Section 301 tariff on covered imports from Türkiye entered full application on July 28 after a temporary exemption for qualifying goods already in transit expired.
The additional duty took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on July 24. Goods loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and already in transit on their final mode of transport before that deadline remained exempt only if they entered the United States for consumption before 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on July 28.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative imposed the tariffs after investigating 60 economies over their failure to ban or enforce bans on imports produced wholly or partly with forced labor.
USTR placed Türkiye among 54 economies that it said had failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on such imports. Six others, Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan, were found to have failed to enforce existing prohibitions effectively.
Covered Turkish goods now face an additional 12.5 percent Section 301 duty on top of normal customs duties. The measure does not apply to every product. Exemptions include goods already subject to Section 232 tariffs, informational materials, donations, accompanied baggage and products listed separately in the final notice.
Türkiye was not included in the 10 percent tariff group. That rate applies to Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom.
Türkiye now faces a 2.5 percentage point Section 301 disadvantage against several competing exporters. Its commercial effect will vary by product classification, ordinary tariff rate and eligibility for exemptions.
USTR also ordered tariff-rate quotas to be created, where feasible, for Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia, tied to their use of US cotton and textile inputs. The quotas would allow specified volumes of textile and apparel imports to enter free of the Section 301 tariff.
Until the quotas are established, the 10 percent Section 301 tariff remains in force.
Turkish exporters will need to check the relevant Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification and exemption annexes before calculating the final duty.
The 60 investigated economies account for 99.4 percent of total US imports. The 99.4 percent figure measures the combined share of US imports represented by those economies. It does not mean that 99.4 percent of US imports is subject to the new tariffs.
Sources: Office of the United States Trade Representative, USTR final action notice, White House presidential memorandum, Bosphorus News review and reporting.