ANKARA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- As a major steel exporter to the United States, most of the steel industry representatives in Turkey criticized President Donald Trump's decision to impose punitive tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, calling on the administrations to seek exemption from U.S. ahead of March 23, the deadline for exemption negotiations.

Trump on March 8 announced to impose a 25-percent tariff on imported steel and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum, triggering the criticism and outrage from its trading partners around the world.

However, the U.S. announced to exempt Canada and Mexico and offered the possibility of excluding other allies, backtracking from an earlier "no-exceptions" stance.

Namik Ekinci, Turkish Steel Exporters' Association Chairman, said Thursday in a written statement that the move will "negatively affect both world trade and the U.S. economy."

"The 25-percent tax rate on steel imports is unequal and U.S. unilaterally grants privileges to certain countries and leaves the door open to some for exemption," he stressed.

Turkey is the sixth largest steel exporter to the U.S. after Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Russia, which accounts for 5.7 percent of U.S. steel imports.

"Turkey has already fulfilled all of the conditions U.S. set for exemption from steel tariffs. It should be exempted from the 25-percent tariff," the head of association noted.

As fears of a global trade war grew, Ekinci called on Turkey's administrations to "take action immediately to protect the country's interests."

"Otherwise, Turkey's exclusion from the countries exempted from the tax will lead to the doors closed to the U.S., one of our most important markets. It will be a severe blow to our steel industry," Ekinci said.

Estimated by the steel industry experts, such a potential situation will bring a trade deficit of 2.5 million tons of steel for Turkey.

"The U.S. new tariff on the imported aluminium, which will increase our production cost, could adversely affect our competitive advantage in the global market," Hakan Ucak, head of Turkey Customs and Foreign Trade, told Anadolu Agency.

In 2017, Turkey exported 1.2 billion U.S. dollars worth of steel and 78.5 million dollars worth of aluminum to the U.S., according to the data from Turkish Economy Ministry.

Ankara has delivered signals of countermeasures in the wake of Washington's move. Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci spoke with EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom via phone last week, and the two agreed to move together at the World Trade Organization (WTO) level.

"We will take countermeasures," though not in the form of retaliatory duties, Zeybekci said.

Instead, he hinted that there would be more stringent customs inspections, saying Turkish importers will be "more sensitive" regarding U.S. products.

"We have been closely following the issue and will take the required steps at various platforms," Turkish Economy Ministry said in a written statement on March 6.

Earlier, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek warned the steps U.S. was taking could initiate a global trade war, a critical situation for the world economy.

"Trump's aggressive tariffs which might open Pandora's box for global trade wars are bound to harm both the world economy and American interests in the long term," local columnist Sadik Unay commented on Daily Sabah.