HONG KONG — Facing a surge of Chinese imports driving up its trade deficit, Turkey last June announced a 40% supplementary tariff on new vehicles coming from China.
A month later, BYD, China’s biggest maker of electric and hybrid vehicles, announced it would build a $1 billion factory in Turkey, with production to begin by the end of 2026. The move won BYD an exemption from the country’s new tariff on imports in the interim as well as the promise of duty-free access to EU markets for the new factory’s future output via Turkey’s customs union with the bloc.
