Türkiye joins action framework to tackle global steel overcapacity

Türkiye and fellow members of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC) adopted an action framework to combat global overcapacity, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Wednesday.

Bolat said in a statement on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal that members adopted the Comprehensive Framework for Joint Action and a ministerial statement during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 trade ministers’ gathering in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The forum assessed ways to prevent excess steel capacity from increasingly harming international steel trade, alongside coordination of members’ investment, production and foreign trade policies, he said.

Participating countries agreed to continue efforts to address the problem, Bolat added.

The minister is representing Türkiye at the two-day meeting, held under the US presidency as geopolitical tensions, mounting uncertainty and the risk of economic fragmentation weigh on global trade.

The gathering runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 and is hosted by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Bolat said Türkiye is sharing its approaches and proposed solutions on preventing food from being used as an instrument of political and economic pressure, addressing structural overcapacity, the most-favored-nation principle and eliminating forced labor from global supply chains.

He said Türkiye would continue efforts under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s leadership to strengthen its influence and competitiveness in global trade, diversify trade relations and defend its interests on international platforms in line with its Century of Türkiye goals.