Turkey inflicts extra import duties on RI textiles

The Turkish government has been imposing additional import tariffs on Indonesian textiles since Aug. 1, the same day it began imposing extra levies on Indonesian bicycle and motorcycle tires, to counter what it claims are dumping practices.

Indonesian Textile Association (API) deputy chairman Ade Sudrajat said the Turkish government had imposed between 2 and 3 percent additional import duties on 12 Indonesian textile manufacturers that had been “cooperative” during the dumping investigation.

“However, the Turkish government imposed an extra 8 percent levy on companies that were not so cooperative filling in the questionnaires,” he said in an interview Tuesday.

The dumping allegation goes back to 2007, when 22 Turkish firms petitioned seven textile makers from three countries — China, India and Indonesia — for allegedly dumping sewing thread of man-made staple fibers; yarn (other than sewing thread) of synthetic staple fibers; yarn (other than sewing thread) of artificial staple fibers; and yarn (other than sewing thread) of man-made staple fibers onto the Turkish market.

The companies accused of dumping were primarily PT Polysindo Eka Perkasa, PT Indo Liberty Textiles and PT Yans Manunggal Jaya; later, the allegation was extended to four other firms; PT Kamaltek in Semarang, Central Java; PT Sunrise Bumi Textile in Bekasi, West Java; and PT Elegan Textile Industry and PT Apac Inti Corpora, both located in Jakarta.