The relatively lower 10% baseline tariff that the United States has applied to Türkiye amid a recent salvo of levies on other countries seems to be at Ankara's "advantage" as for now, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said Saturday.
Along with the baseline tariff that took effect on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced higher levies on goods from 57 larger partners, including China, the European Union, Vietnam and Japan, that are due to start next week.
The decision not to impose such levies on Türkiye "seems to be to our advantage as for now, for access to the American market," Yılmaz told an interview with CNN Türk.
"Mr. Trump's latest decisions are very, very important. How will other countries react to this? The European Union, China, other countries ... We need to follow this closely," he elaborated.
"They have decided to respond. Trump also said, 'I am open to negotiations.' What will these negotiations be? We need to follow their results," he added.
Moreover, he touched upon the tariffs on iron, steel and said: "There were already tariffs on iron, steel and aluminum (exports from Türkiye to the U.S.). When (the U.S.) imposed similar tariffs on the others, there was an equalization there, it was in our favor."
However, the vice president also warned that these rising tariffs may also cause other countries selling goods to the American market to enter other markets more aggressively, and this may have indirect effects.
"We need to be careful in terms of competition, we may have difficulty. Therefore, we need to look for new markets," he said.
At the same time, Yılmaz said that as an importer, Türkiye would also benefit from a drop in international commodity prices, including oil, following Trump's announcement.
The oil prices have been relatively lower in the recent period, and the global demand outlook remains subdued, with analysts predicting that crude prices are unlikely to return to $80 per barrel in the foreseeable future.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat earlier on Friday said that the Turkish government wanted to negotiate with the U.S. to lift the 10% in new tariffs.
He called them the "best of the worst," given higher tariffs on many other countries. Vietnam, as a major exporter to the United States, for example, was slapped with 47% tariffs, while diamond maker Botswana took a hit of 38% and even Israel, as one of Washington's key allies, was targeted with a 17% levy.
"We want to discuss the issue in negotiations with the U.S. Department of Commerce and Trade Representative ... since there is a $2.4 billion surplus in favor of the U.S. in trade between the two countries for 2024," Bolat said.
Yılmaz, in the interview, also evaluated other recent developments, including the Ukraine war, Syria, inflation and the central bank's reserves.
The central bank's reserves are at "a sufficient level," he said, explaining that markets, which recently experienced volatility, have stabilized.
He mentioned that the economic administration gave the necessary messages regarding the latest developments and that all institutions took measures in coordination.
"Therefore, there is an impact, but this impact is mostly an impact formed through expectations and risk perceptions in financial markets. This is also short-term. I believe that the impacts of this should not be exaggerated," he said.
The vice president also said that Türkiye has achieved a 37.4-point decline in inflation over the past 10 months.
"We are not saying there is no price increase, but the rate of increase is declining," he said, pointing to the plans for medium-term targets, including goals to reach single digits by 2027.
"Regarding food, this year, we have given the most to irrigation investments, and this is a deliberate choice. We wanted to increase our production with irrigation, increase supply and decrease prices. In housing and rent, we are preparing for a serious social housing mobilization," he added.
Turkish annual inflation slowed to 38.1% in March, official data revealed on Thursday, marking the continuation of the downward trend.
