Strategic protection will strengthen the competitiveness of Turkey’s steel industry – Tosyalı

Measures should protect not only the domestic market, but also exporters

Fuat Tosyalı, Chairman of the Board of Tosyalı Holding, believes that Turkey can increase the competitiveness of the sector through strategic protective measures. He told this to the Turkish newspaper Ekonomim.

According to him, geopolitical events and uncertainty regarding customs tariffs will continue to affect all countries and sectors throughout 2025.

“Excessive supply, especially due to China’s high production rates, has completely disrupted the balance in global export markets,” Tosali added.

Amid global events, Turkish steelmakers are facing significant challenges in the domestic market, as well as unfair competition from China in many countries to which they export, he noted. Therefore, a comprehensive approach needs to be developed that focuses not only on Turkey but also protects export-oriented companies.

“We are entering a period when practices that support the production of value-added green steel and provide strategic protection against unfair competition must be considered with greater sensitivity. Steps taken to this end will increase the sector’s international competitiveness,” emphasized the chairman of the board of Tosyalı.

Fuat Tosyalı noted that the holding company is making investments focused on sustainable development, efficiency, and scale, and is working worldwide in the production of green steel.

The company also continues its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, in particular through investments in renewable energy sources. In 2025, Tosyalı took the first step towards one of the largest solar power plant projects for its own consumption in Turkey with a capacity of 1.2 GW, with the first phase in Osmaniye.

«In this way, we will meet almost 50% of our own consumption with solar power plants. In addition, work continues on the use of green hydrogen at our facilities. In this context, our second DRI plant in Algeria, thanks to its advanced technology, has become the first facility in the world to start commercial production capable of operating on both natural gas and, with minor modifications, 100% hydrogen,» said Fuat Tosyali.

Over the past five years, Tosyalı has increased its global steel production by 110% and aims to become one of the world’s top 20 steel companies in the next five years.

It should be noted that in January-October 2025, Turkey increased its steel exports to 16.04 million tons, which is 9.5% more than in the same period in 2024. The largest growth in supplies was in sheet steel and profiles, with Romania and Italy being the main markets.