Turkey recently updated its import tariffs for certain nuts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported Jan. 22. The country raised duties on in-shell and shelled walnuts to 15% for all origins, excluding countries with which Turkey has a free trade deal. FAS also said Turkey imposes an additional 10% duty on tree nuts imported from the U.S. in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Turkish steel.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Jan. 25 (some may also be given separate headlines):

The United Steelworkers, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the American Iron and Steel Institute and two other trade groups wrote to President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 11, telling him that weakening or removing 25% tariffs and quotas on imported steel “before major steel producing countries eliminate their overcapacity and the subsidies and other trade-distorting policies that have fueled the steel crisis will only invite a new surge in imports with devastating effects to domestic steel producers and their workers.” The letter said the Section 232 tariffs allowed idled mills to reopen and laid-off workers to regain their jobs. “Continuation of the tariffs and quotas is essential to ensuring the viability of the domestic steel industry in the face of ... massive and growing excess steel capacity,” they said, pointing to China, Vietnam and Turkey as countries that did not slow down steel production during the COVID-19 pandemic-induced recession.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Jan. 4 (some may also be given separate headlines):

ssssThe United Kingdom on Dec. 29 updated its guidance on existing trade agreements with non-European Union countries. The guidance now includes information on trade agreements that will take effect Jan. 1, 2021, with Turkey, Vietnam, the Solomon Islands, Samoa and the Republic of Guyana.

The United Kingdom and Turkey signed a free trade agreement that will maintain existing preferential tariff levels and ensure trade continues as usual after the Brexit transition period ends, the U.K. said Dec. 29. The U.K. also said the accord lays the “groundwork for a more ambitious trade relationship” with both sides committed to working on a more comprehensive free trade agreement.

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The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls Dec. 14 issued guidance on the recently imposed U.S. sanctions against Turkey, detailing how it will implement various export restrictions. DDTC said it will not approve “any specific license or authorization” for exports or reexports for transactions where Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) is a party, including for “defense articles,” technical data or defense services. While the restrictions do not apply to “temporary import authorizations” or current and valid reexport authorizations, they do apply to all new export and reexport authorizations, DDTC said. That includes “amendments to previously approved licenses or agreements and licenses in furtherance of previously approved agreements.”

The U.S. announced sanctions on Turkey for buying Russian missile defense systems, saying Dec. 14 the purchases provide “substantial funds” to Russia’s defense sector and harm U.S. national security. The sanctions target Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and several SSB officials, including SSB President Ismail Demir, Vice President Faruk Yigit, and air defense officials Serhat Gencoglu and Mustafa Alper Deniz.

The Netherlands Parliament urged the European Union to restrict weapons exports to Turkey and impose sanctions on people in Turkey and Azerbaijan responsible for violence in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, according to a Nov. 18 post on the EU Sanctions blog. The parliament specifically asked the EU for a moratorium on weapons exports that could be used in the conflict, to impose sanctions on people responsible for the violence and to designate senior officials in Azerbaijan, including President Ilham Aliyev, his family members and “other key figures in the Azerbaijani offensive.” Sanctions should also be imposed on Syrian fighters in the conflict deployed by Turkey, the post said.