USTR reviewing market access in Turkey

Trump administration “has concerns with” the country’s compliance with Generalized Systems of Preferences criterion.    The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is reviewing Turkey’s eligibility for the Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSP) based on concerns about market access for U.S. firms in the country.
   USTR announced Friday the cited problematic market access criterion “covers the extent to which beneficiary countries have assured the United States reasonable and equitable access to their markets.”
   In response to U.S. Section 232 steel and aluminum duties, Turkey imposed duties across $1.8 billion worth of U.S. exports, based on 2017 trade value, USTR noted.
   The United States imported $1.66 billion worth of goods from Turkey in 2017, under GSP, composing 17.7 percent of total U.S. imports from the nation, USTR said. The leading GSP import categories were vehicles and vehicle parts, jewelry and precious metals, and stone articles.
   Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu for their roles in the arrest and ongoing detention of Andrew Brunson, an American pastor arrested in Izmir, Turkey, in October 2016, accused without evidence of aiding armed terrorist organizations and obtaining confidential government information for espionage, according to Treasury.
   “The Trump administration has concerns with Turkey’s compliance with GSP’s market access criterion,” Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish said in a statement. “We hope that Turkey will work with us to address the concerns that led to this new review of their duty-free access to the United States.”
   An upcoming Federal Register notice will announce a public hearing and comment period for Turkey’s GSP eligibility review, USTR said.