China firmly opposes Turkish tariff hike on Chinese vehicles

China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes Türkiye's decision to impose additional duties on imports of Chinese vehicles, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

China will take all necessary measures to defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, according to a statement from a ministry spokesperson.

Last week, Türkiye announced the imposition of an additional 40 percent import duty on fuel and hybrid passenger vehicles manufactured in China, which will go into effect in early July. 

That announcement came after Türkiye's previous imposition of a similar tariff hike on electric vehicles from China, a decision Beijing has repeatedly protested.

The additional import duties are only imposed on passenger vehicles originating from China, resulting in Chinese products being treated less favorably than similar products from other World Trade Organization (WTO) members, constituting discrimination against Chinese products and seriously violating the principle of the most-favored-nation treatment, the statement said.

The rules of the WTO are the fundamental principles for its members to formulate trade policies, and Türkiye's move is explicitly prohibited by them, the spokesperson said.

Türkiye's erratic policies not only harm the interests of cooperative enterprises and local consumers in Türkiye but also exacerbate the concerns of Chinese enterprises regarding the Turkish business environment, undermining their confidence in investing in Türkiye, the spokesperson added.

China urges Türkiye to immediately lift the discriminatory tariff measures and jointly promote the healthy development of Chinese-Turkish economic and trade relations, according to the statement.