Turkey Extends Safeguards on Imported Travel Goods, Handbags, Etc.
The Office of Textiles and Apparel has announced that on April 8, 2011, Turkish Customs began implementing a temporary safeguard measure on certain imported travel goods, handbags, and “similar containers” in the form of a temporary additional import tariff of $2.70/kg (max $4.25/ea) for 200 days. This temporary measure essentially extends a previous safeguard measure on travel goods, which had been in place since 2008 and had expired on April 8, 2011.
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Turkish Producers and Exporters Petition for Investigation to Continue Safeguard
Following a petition for an extension by Turkish producers and exporters, an investigation was opened to review the current situation of the market to determine whether to continue the safeguard measure.
Good Covered Include Suitcases, Handbags, Sports Bags, Etc.
According to Turkey’s non-confidential summary of the extension of this safeguard measure, goods subject to this safeguard are:
trunks, suitcases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers; traveling bags, insulated food and beverage bags, toilet bags, rucksacks, handbags, food bags, wallets, purses, map cases, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches, tool bags, sports bags, bottle cases, jewelry boxes, powder-spice-gunpowder boxes, cutlery cases, chests and similar cases of leather or of composition leather, of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper
These goods are classified under the customs tariff subheading 4202 of Turkish Customs Tariff Schedule. (See summary for a list of the 8-digit customs codes for goods subject to the safeguard.)
OTEXA announcement is available here.
Communiqué on Import Safeguard Measures (in Turkey) is available here.
Non Confidential Summary (in English) is available here.