Turkey asks WTO for emergency duties on mobile phone imports

December 12, 2014 | 16:13

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Vietnam mobile phone makers have not violated any World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade rules and any allegations by Turkey they did are sheer ‘stealth protectionism’ measures aiming to block legitimate foreign competition.

This is the response of the Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA) to a complaint Turkey has filed with the WTO asking permission to impose emergency import tariffs on Vietnamese mobile phones.

Such ‘safeguard tariffs’ are permitted if a country can show that a surge in imports is irreparably damaging domestic producers, but they may be challenged by other WTO members.

The WTO has 20 days from December 5 to study Turkey’s request.

Turkey’s is the first petition for safeguard tariffs on mobile phones and many governments are increasingly using these safeguards as part of a trend fostering economic growth by blocking foreign competition without any foul of the WTO rules, a representative of the VCA says.

Turkey’s petition to the government indicates the value of mobile phone imports into Turkey had risen from $1.1 billion in 2009 to $2.7 billion in 2013, with 99.9% of imports coming from China, Vietnam the Republic of Korea, India or Taiwan in 2014.

Vietnam ranks second to China among the nations exporting mobile phones to Turkey with the export turnover reaching US$603 million in the first nine months of the year.

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