U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Turkey has been removed from the list of countries covered by the generalized system of preferences (GSP), which provides tax advantages in trade with the United States.

Stating that the decision in question will be valid from 17 May 2019, Trump said that the economic level that makes it possible for Turkey to benefit from the GSP program has risen above it.

In the context of the GSP program, which came into force in 1974 in the USA and Turkey included in 1975, approximately 4 thousand items of 121 countries with the appropriate criteria can enter the American market without customs.

Among these products, agricultural products, automotive parts, precious stones and jewelry, plastic, machinery, and parts were prominent.

Trump cuts tariffs on Turkish steel imports in half to 25%

On the other hand, President Trump announced Thursday that he would reduce tariffs on Turkish steel from 50 percent to 25 percent, returning the tariffs to their August 2018 levels.

Trump doubled tariffs on steel from Turkey last August, but is now cutting those tariffs by half, Trump said in a White House proclamation.

Under the higher tariff, steel imports declined by 12 percent and have declined from Turkey by 48 percent, Trump said in the proclamation.

"This target level, if maintained for an appropriate period, will improve the financial viability of the domestic steel industry over the long term," Trump said. 

The U.S. and Turkey had been locked in a trade war in August 2018, each slapping retaliatory tariffs on the other and putting intense strain on the two countries' relationship.

The Turkish lira dropped 11 percent against the U.S. dollar after Trump announced he would double steel tariffs on the country, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned of a global economic war against Turkey.

Ankara retaliated soon after, moving to impose a 50 percent tax on U.S. rice, 140 percent on spirits, 60 percent on tobacco and 120 percent on cars while increasing duties on a variety of other goods.

ILKHA