On Thursday, the United States ended preferential trade treatment that allowed some Turkish goods to enter the United States duty-free, but cut Turkish steel import tariffs by half to 25%.
The White House said it was appropriate to terminate Turkey's eligibility to participate in the GSP program according to its level of economic development. The decision will come into force on May 17.
The U.S. Trade Representative Office (USTR) said in early March that Turkey was no longer eligible to participate in the GSP because of its "sufficiently developed economy". The USTR began reviewing Turkey's preferential trade treatment last August, when the two countries had a diplomatic dispute.
Turkey is one of the 120 countries participating in the GSP. GSP is the oldest and largest trade preferential scheme in the United States. It aims to promote the economic development of beneficiary countries and regions by abolishing tariffs on thousands of products.
According to the website of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, under the GSP program, the United States imported $1.66 billion from Turkey in 2017, accounting for 17.7% of the total U.S. imports from Turkey.
According to the website, the main GSP import categories include automobiles and parts, jewelry and precious metals, and stone.
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