The 12.5% US tariff: the competitor is exempt, the Turkish exporter is not
Mustafa Kürlek notes the 12.5% additional US tariff on Turkish olive products is not applied to competitors such as Tunisia, and calls for DFİF and Eximbank measures.
Mustafa Kürlek, chairman of Köklü Zeytincilik, says the 12.5% additional tariff the United States applies to Turkish olive and olive oil products is not applied to competitors such as Tunisia, leaving Turkish exporters at a disadvantage.
Why the gap matters
Paying 12.5% more while selling to the same buyer, on the same shelf, is a direct price disadvantage. One figure makes the comparison concrete: Tunisia exported 368,000 tonnes of olive oil in the first nine months of 2025/26, a significant share of it to North America.
Kürlek's emphasis is on the permanence of the market: "We must not allow a temporary rise in costs to turn into the permanent loss of a US market won through years of effort." Shelf space once lost, he says, is hard to win back.
The measures sought
Kürlek lists three:
- DFİF: reactivating the Support and Price Stabilisation Fund through a WTO-compatible model, with temporary support equal to the tariff gap until diplomacy produces a result.
- Credit terms: spreading existing Eximbank and rediscount debts over longer terms in return for production and export commitments.
- VAT refunds: accelerating refunds to ease companies' cash flow.
Background
The call comes during a run of concordat filings in the sector; we covered the most recent case in Akhisar separately. We examined the effect of tariff gaps on exporter margins in profitability in olive oil exports.
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