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.
Source
- Statements by Mustafa Kürlek: Türkiye'de İş Dünyası, 31 August 2026
One rating per visitor; you can change yours at any time. Ratings are real reader votes — no seeded or default scores.
Related
Article
EIA approval for a 200 t/day olive oil plant in Mudanya
A 9.5 million lira olive oil plant planned in Mudanya, Bursa, has received a positive environmental impact decision: 200 tonnes of olives a day, around 100 operating days a season.
Article
Tunisia exported 368,000 tonnes of olive oil — but earned less per tonne
Tunisia's agriculture observatory ONAGRI reports olive oil exports up 55.3% by volume and 44.4% by value in the first nine months of 2025/26. The gap between the two means about 7% less earned per tonne.
Article
Recall in Germany: MOSH/MOAH in pomace oil — not olive oil
Germany's official food safety portal has recalled a 4-litre pomace oil sold in Turkish shops. The product is not olive oil but olive pomace oil; we explain the difference and what MOSH/MOAH are.
Article
A 282-member doctors' cooperative puts sensors in the olive grove
A cooperative founded by doctors in Adana is monitoring water and fertiliser with buried sensors across 100 of its 135 dönüm of bearing olive grove, funded with 2 million lira.