Turkey lowers tariffs on US imports to reciprocate Washington's move

Turkey decided to reduce by half the additional duties levied on 22 products originating in the US in a reciprocal move.

"With this decision, duties levied on [aforementioned] US originating products will be reduced from $521.2 million to $260.6 million," Turkey's Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said on Wednesday.

The move comes after the US government announced it decreased tariffs on Turkish iron and steel imports to 25 percent from 50 percent last week.

The list of products includes rice, alcoholic beverages, cosmetic products, and some motor vehicles.

Turkey will continue to work on eradicating all obstacles to bilateral trade and achieving bilateral trade volume target, she added.

The United States doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium imports last August amid a diplomatic row between the NATO allies that accelerated a fall in the lira. 

Turkey retaliated by doubling tariffs on US cars, alcohol and tobacco imports.

Before the decision, tariffs on US whiskey stood at 140 percent, while the rate is at 120 percent for passenger cars, 50 percent for PVC and 60 percent for cosmetic products.

The White House decision last week to halve tariffs was a rare positive development between Ankara and Washington, but the US administration also terminated Turkey's eligibility for the Generalized System of Preferences (GTS) programme, in a move Turkey said contradicted trade goals.

In February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump set a goal of $75 billion in bilateral trade.