Minister Bolat: We are among the world's leading steel producers

Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat, in his speech at the Steel Networking Summits 2026 organized with the support of the Steel Exporters' Association (ÇİB), stated that steel manufacturing is one of the main input sectors of the industry, economy and defense.

Emphasizing that a strong steel industry is a must for a country to defend itself and survive, Bolat said that the steel industry lies at the basis of infrastructure, transportation, energy, machinery manufacturing and defense industry.

Bolat pointed out that the world's major economies have become pioneers in the world economy by developing their metal, steel and engineering sectors, and explained that the metal, engineering and automotive sectors are interconnected and formed the backbone of the country's industries and economies as the most strategic sectors in the last century and until recently.

Stating that more than 400 participants from more than 80 countries were hosted at this meeting, Bolat said, "More than 200 international sector representatives are among us. More than 30 high-level speakers will speak at the steel summit here and contribute to the discussions. The aim here is to reveal 'Where is the global steel industry going?', to plan the future and to discuss the trends that concern the steel industry in the world." he said.

Minister Bolat continued his speech as follows:

"The Turkish steel industry ranked seventh in the world and first in Europe by producing 38.1 million tons of crude steel in 2025. Our strong position in the steel industry serves as a locomotive in terms of construction, automotive, machinery, energy, transportation, shipbuilding and defense industries. Turkey is among the world's leading steel producers and steel trade centers by both exporting and importing, with its large production capacity and strong foreign trade network. Today, our country is 615 billion by 2025." "It is the 10th steel exporter in the world with its exports of 17.1 billion dollars in global steel trade reaching USD 17.1 billion and its network reaching more than 200 countries. The fact that 42.3 percent of our steel exports are to the European Union is the most concrete proof of the international competitiveness of our industry."

Pointing out that it is a matter of pride that Turkish steel is a sought-after product in the European market where high standards are required, Bolat said, "One of the most important features of the Turkish steel industry is that 78 percent of the production capacity is based on scrap-based electric arc furnace technology. The Turkish steel industry, which mainly uses scrap steel in production, produced 27.5 million tons of raw steel and imported 18.8 million tons of steel scrap. In this sense, Turkey is an important country in the world importing scrap steel." he said.

"OUR PRIORITY IS TO ENSURE THAT EXPORTERS DO NOT FACE DISPROPORTIONATE COST OBSTACLES WHILE SUPPORTING THE GREEN TRANSFORMATION"

Minister of Commerce Bolat pointed out that the decisions of the USA and the European Union regarding the steel sector significantly affect trade, and stated that these measures negatively affect not only the exporting countries but also the industrial sector investors and final consumers who need input.

Bolat said, "These unilateral restrictions, which are incompatible with international trade rules and implemented without adequate consultations and negotiations with trading partners, cannot offer a permanent solution, and such obstacles also harm the green transformation targets in steel and industry, as they limit the efficient circulation of scrap-based and low-carbon steel." he said.

Stating that the Republic of Turkey and the Government of Turkey emphasize and defend the necessity of transparent, rule-based, fair and free trade at every opportunity in order to increase global prosperity, Minister Bolat said that the European Union is Türkiye's largest trade partner and Türkiye is the fifth largest trade partner of the European Union.

Bolat emphasized that the European Union's reduction of steel quotas by 50 percent as of July 1, 2026 and the Border Carbon Regulation Mechanism (SKDM), which started to be implemented at the beginning of 2026, directly affected the steel industry, and said, "There was a 1.7 percent decrease in Türkiye's exports to the EU in steel products within the scope of SKDM in the 9-month period between January and September 2026. There was a 10 percent increase in Türkiye's exports to countries outside the EU." "There has been a 6.7 percent decrease in our exports to the EU in the iron and steel sector. Our priority in this process, which requires the measurement and verification of emissions and the transition to low-carbon production, is to support the green transformation but to ensure that exporters do not face disproportionate costs and additional trade barriers." he said.

Stating that they work with and lead exporters in all developments that closely concern exporters within the framework of Türkiye's Green Agreement Action Plan, climate policies and relevant institutional regulations, Bolat explained that they receive consultancy services and support companies in the green transformation adaptation process with the support of the Green Agreement Adaptation Project, which they put into effect 2.5 years ago as the Ministry of Commerce.

"Türkiye-EU TRADE IN THE LAST 5 YEARS IS OVER 1 TRILLION DOLLARS"

Bolat stated that the success of industrial integration in Türkiye's more than 30-year-old Customs Union with the EU has made the Turkish and European Union industries integrated and united, and said, "The supply-supply chains between the two parties are too sharp and solid to be broken even by decisions taken from above. Turkish and EU industries engage in intense foreign trade with each other in both inputs, raw materials and finished products. Turkey-EU trade volume is 233 billion dollars annually. This amounts to 204 billion euros. "Türkiye-EU trade in the last 5 years is 900 billion euros, or over 1 trillion dollars, and this is a balanced, very successful bilateral trade volume where mutual interests are taken into consideration." he said.

Minister Bolat said:

"The Turkish economy has recorded an annual real growth of 5.35 percent in the last 24 years under the management of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and except for 2009, it has recorded positive, positive growth in the last 16 years, and after the second quarter of Covid-19, it has always shown a positive, rising growth rate for the last 24 quarters, that is, the last 6 years. The average growth rate of the last 6 years is over 5 percent.

This year, we have a growth of 2.5 percent in the first half. The first quarter was 2.6 percent, the second quarter was 2.3 percent, and net exports of goods and services made a strong contribution to this growth. The Turkish economy has reached a national income of 1.7 trillion dollars from a national income of 238 billion dollars in the last 24 years, and it is estimated that we will close the year with an economic size of around 1.8 trillion dollars. "Per capita national income was 18 thousand dollars last year and will exceed 20 thousand dollars at the end of this year."

Stating that they managed to increase Türkiye's foreign trade goods exports, which were 36 billion dollars in 2002, to 273.2 billion dollars in 2025, and that the annualized goods exports as of September this year were 283.7 billion dollars, Bolat said, "Turkey is also an importer country, that is, we never pursue and defend the mentality of 'Only Turkey wins, others lose'. We, 283.7 "While we export billions of dollars, we are a country that imported 380 billion dollars in the last year as of September. This includes your sector, steel, oil, natural gas, coal, raw gold, industrial products, so we contribute to world trade with both exports and imports." he said.

Minister Bolat pointed out that total exports are 409 billion dollars when services are included and said, "Because we have 125 billion dollars of service exports. We have 63-64 billion dollars of service imports. When we look at total exports, 25 percent of our national income is exports, as exports of goods and services. When we add imports, our total foreign trade is 860 billion dollars. Therefore, it constitutes more than 50 percent of the national income." he said.

Emphasizing that Türkiye is an important player in international trade through exports and imports, Bolat added that international trade and investments play a major role in this.