ANKARA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye has introduced a 20 percent additional charge on imports of some gold jewelry to reduce gold imports, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday.
The decision states that an additional 20 percent will be added to the price of all gold jewelry and metal products with precious metal plating, with the exception of those from the European Union and countries that have signed free trade agreements with Türkiye.
The government's decision is part of its ongoing efforts to mitigate the negative impact that large imports of gold and energy have on Türkiye's current account balance.
In order to reduce the deficit and increase foreign exchange reserves, Türkiye plans to impose a quota on imports of unprocessed gold, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Monday.
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Trade Ministry will soon complete the legislative work on the measure, Anadolu reported.
Türkiye's gold imports rose 5.1 percent year-on-year to nearly 217 billion U.S. dollars between January and July this year, according to data published by the Trade Ministry. The imports of unprocessed gold rose by 180 percent annually to 19.4 billion U.S. dollars in the same period.
