The war in Ukraine is threatening the free trade agreement signed between this country and Turkey, Ekol Demir Çelik chairwoman Elif Tulay has said.
The agreement was signed last month to increase bilateral trade to $10 billion, but now the Turkish steel industry needs protection against the economic fallout from the conflict, Demirören News Agency quoted her as saying.
“Due to its geographical position, we have close export and import ties with Ukraine. We have been procuring most of the raw materials for the iron and steel industry from this country,” she said.
The Ukrainian market is particularly important for high-quality steel, she added.
Although Ekol Demir Çelik has enough stockpile of raw materials and high-quality steel, she is worried about the sector as a whole, Tulay noted.