Turkey's steel exports rose 12.5 percent year-on-year to reach 11.4 million tons in the first nine months of the year, the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (ÇİB) said yesterday.

The ÇİB revealed that the country earned $11 billion between January and September, up 34 percent compared to the same period last year.

In September, the country exported 2 million tons of steel, almost double compared to the same month last year.

Turkey's steel exports soared to $1.4 billion last month, up 94.9 percent from September 2017.

The Head of ÇİB, Adnan Aslan said that structural steel exports were the main export products for the sector.

"Construction steel exports rose 2.9 percent to 4.24 million tons. And its value also increased to $2.34 billion, up 31 percent," Aslan said.

Turkey's steel exports were valued at $11.5 billion last year, accounting for 7.3 percent of its total exports worth $157 billion, according to the association.

The U.S. was the top destination for Turkish steel last year, with exports worth $1.1 billion.

Turkey came in sixth place among the countries the U.S. imported steel from last year, while the share of Turkish steel was at 7 percent of the total U.S. steel imports.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Twitter on Aug. 10 that he had authorized the doubling of tariff on Turkish steel and aluminum imports, another salvo in the dispute between Turkey and the U.S.

In retaliation, Turkey on Aug. 15 slapped tariffs on several U.S. imports, including alcohol, tobacco products and cars.