# Turkmenistan: Tariffs, Trade & U.S. Exposure

Turkmenistan: America imported $39M in goods from Turkmenistan in 2025 (+169% in one year) and sold it $113M; the latest U.S. tariff action toward it (2026-04-06) is "Section 232 metals coverage expanded", in effect; it ships 2 essential goods finished to American shelves (as of 2026-11-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/countries/tm
- As of: 2026-11-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Country code: TM
- Region: Central Asia
- Capital: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
- Government: presidential republic; authoritarian
- Population: 6M
- GDP: $64.2B
- U.S. imports from Turkmenistan, 2025: $39M
- Change in imports in one year: +169%
- U.S. imports 2026 through August: $40M
- U.S. exports to Turkmenistan, 2025: $113M
- Trade data source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade in Goods (customs basis)
- Tariff treatment: universal baseline, no country-specific action
- Reciprocal tariff (universal baseline): 10%
- Section 301: no
- Tariff status verified: 2026-06-13
- Latest tariff action: 2026-04-06: Section 232 metals coverage expanded (in effect)
- Essential goods shipped finished to the U.S.: 2
- Coverage: data

## What you buy that Turkmenistan makes: U.S. imports, 2025

| Category | What it is | Value | Share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Chemicals-fertilizers |   | $18M | 46.1% |
| Fuel oil | fuel oil | $16M | 40.8% |
| U.s. goods returned, and reimports |   | $4M | 10.4% |
| Dairy products and eggs | dairy and eggs | $297K | 0.8% |
| Chemicals-other, n.e.c. |   | $239K | 0.6% |
| Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc. |   | $113K | 0.3% |
| Numismatic coins |   | $102K | 0.3% |
| Measuring, testing, control instruments |   | $62K | 0.2% |
| Rugs | rugs | $50K | 0.1% |
| Minimum value shipments |   | $40K | 0.1% |

2026 so far (through August): $40M in imports. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade in Goods (customs basis).

## What America sells to Turkmenistan: U.S. exports, 2025

| Category | What it is | Value | Share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Meat, poultry, etc. |   | $48M | 42.8% |
| Industrial machines, other |   | $8M | 7% |
| Petroleum products, other |   | $8M | 6.7% |
| Civilian aircraft, engines, equipment, and parts |   | $7M | 6.5% |
| Parts for military-type goods |   | $7M | 6.2% |
| Commercial vessels, other |   | $6M | 5.5% |
| Industrial engines |   | $5M | 4.4% |
| Other industrial supplies |   | $3M | 2.7% |
| Measuring, testing, control instruments |   | $3M | 2.4% |

## U.S. tariff posture toward Turkmenistan

No U.S. tariff action singles this country out. Its goods face the universal 10% temporary import surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act (which replaced the IEEPA reciprocal baseline in February 2026) plus the sectoral Section 232 duties — steel and aluminum at 50% — that apply to all countries. The Section 122 surcharge is statutorily temporary — scheduled to lapse on or about July 23, 2026 (a 150-day cap) unless extended or replaced.

- Reciprocal tariff (universal baseline): 10%. The universal 10% floor, a Section 122 import surcharge since February 2026, previously the EO 14257 reciprocal baseline, applies to nearly all U.S. imports; this country has no higher assigned rate of its own.

## Tariff status, 6 changes since 2025

- 2026-04-06: Section 232 metals coverage expanded (in effect). The April 2026 proclamation strengthening Section 232 actions on aluminum, steel, and copper expanded derivative-product coverage for all countries, keeping the general metals rate at 50%. [91 FR 18201](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-06960)
- 2026-02-24: IEEPA reciprocal tariffs terminated — replaced by 10% Section 122 surcharge (in effect, 10%). Executive Order 14389 (Ending Certain Tariff Actions) terminated the IEEPA tariff duties — including the EO 14257 reciprocal baseline — effective February 24, 2026. A flat 10% Section 122 temporary import surcharge (Proclamation 11012 of February 20, 2026) replaced them, leaving the universal rate unchanged at 10% on a different statutory basis. Section 122 caps such surcharges at 150 days, so this 10% surcharge is scheduled to lapse on or about July 23, 2026 absent further action (the administration has signaled it could raise the rate toward the 15% statutory maximum). [91 FR 9437](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-03832)
- 2025-11-13: Agricultural products exempted from reciprocal tariffs (in effect). Executive Order 14360 of November 14, 2025 removed reciprocal duties from certain agricultural products listed in its annexes (coffee, cocoa, bananas, and other goods the U.S. does not produce in sufficient quantity), retroactive to November 13, 2025 — for all countries subject to the reciprocal tariff. [90 FR 54091](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-21203)
- 2025-06-04: Section 232 steel and aluminum duties doubled to 50% (in effect). The June 3, 2025 proclamation raised Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum articles and derivatives from 25% to 50% for all countries, effective June 4, 2025. [90 FR 24199](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-10524)
- 2025-04-05: Universal 10% reciprocal baseline takes effect (in effect, 10%). Executive Order 14257 (signed April 2, 2025) imposed a 10% ad valorem reciprocal duty on imports from all trading partners, effective April 5, 2025. Countries without a higher Annex I rate remain at this baseline. [Federal Register 2025-06063](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-06063)
- 2025-03-12: Section 232 steel and aluminum duties set at 25% for all countries (in effect). Proclamations of February 10, 2025 terminated all country exemptions and quota arrangements and applied 25% Section 232 duties to steel and aluminum imports from every country, effective March 12, 2025. [90 FR 9817](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-02833)

## What Turkmenistan makes for America

- [Ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers](https://policyrisk.com/supplymap/ammonia-nitrogen-fertilizer) (agriculture): $18M to the U.S.
- [Home heating oil](https://policyrisk.com/supplymap/home-heating-oil) (energy): $16M to the U.S.

## The country itself

Present-day Turkmenistan has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. Various Persian empires ruled the area in antiquity, and Alexander the Great, Muslim armies, the Mongols, Turkic warriors, and eventually the Russians conquered it. In medieval times, Merv (located in present-day Mary province) was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by Russia in the late 1800s, Turkmen territories later figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik resistance in Central Asia. In 1924, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic; it achieved independence when the USSR dissolved in 1991. President for Life Saparmurat NIYAZOV died in 2006, and Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOV, a deputy chairman under NIYAZOW, emerged as the country's new president. BERDIMUHAMEDOV won Turkmenistan's first multi-candidate presidential election in 2007, and again in 2012 and 2017 with over 97% of the vote in elections widely regarded as undemocratic. In 2022, BERDIMUHAMEDOV announced that he would step down from the presidency and called for an election to replace him. His son, Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOV, won the ensuing election with 73% of the vote. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOV, although no longer head of state, maintains an influential political position as head of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) and as National Leader of the Turkmen People, a title that provides additional privileges and immunity for him and his family. Since Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOV stepped down from the presidency, state-controlled media upgraded his honorific from Arkadag (protector) to Hero-Arkadag, and began referring to Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOV as Arkadagly Serdar, which can be translated as "Serdar who has a protector to support him." Turkmenistan has sought new export markets for its extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves, which have yet to be fully exploited. Turkmenistan's reliance on gas exports has made the economy vulnerable to fluctuations in the global energy market, and economic hardships since the drop in energy prices in 2014 have led many citizens of Turkmenistan to emigrate, mostly to Turkey.

Geography
- Location: Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
- Area: 488,100 sq km
- Climate: subtropical desert
- Terrain: flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
- Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
- Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
- Natural hazards: earthquakes; mudslides; droughts; dust storms; floods

People and society
- Population: 5,744,151 (2024 est.)
- Nationality: Turkmenistani(s)
- Ethnic groups: Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003 est.)
- Languages: Turkmen (official) 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
- Religions: Muslim 93%, Christian 6.4%, Buddhist <1%, folk religion <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, unspecified <1% (2020 est.)
- Median age: 31.6 years (2025 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth: 72.4 years (2024 est.)
- Literacy: 99.9% (2022 est.)

Economy
- Economic overview: upper-middle-income Central Asian economy; houses fourth-largest natural gas reserves and rich in natural resources; authoritarian and dominated by state-owned enterprises; challenges include overvalued currency, high inflation risks, lack of economic diversification due to heavy state control and bureaucracy
- Industries: natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
- Agricultural products: milk, wheat, potatoes, cotton, watermelons, tomatoes, grapes, barley, beef, lamb/mutton (2023)
- Exports - partners: China 63%, Turkey 11%, Greece 7%, Uzbekistan 6%, Azerbaijan 4% (2023)
- Imports - partners: Turkey 21%, UAE 21%, China 20%, Kazakhstan 8%, Germany 5% (2023)

Government
- Government type: presidential republic; authoritarian
- Capital: Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
- Independence: 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
- Constitution: several previous; latest adopted 14 September 2016
- Executive branch: President Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOV (since 19 March 2022)
- Legislative branch: Assembly (Mejlis)

## Sources
- [91 FR 18201](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/09/2026-06960/strengthening-actions-taken-to-adjust-imports-of-aluminum-steel-and-copper-into-the-united-states)
- [91 FR 9437](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/02/25/2026-03832/ending-certain-tariff-actions)
- [90 FR 54091](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/25/2025-21203/modifying-the-scope-of-the-reciprocal-tariffs-with-respect-to-certain-agricultural-products)
- [90 FR 24199](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/09/2025-10524/adjusting-imports-of-aluminum-and-steel-into-the-united-states)
- [Universal 10% reciprocal baseline takes effect](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/07/2025-06063/regulating-imports-with-a-reciprocal-tariff-to-rectify-trade-practices-that-contribute-to-large-and)
- [90 FR 9817](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/18/2025-02833/adjusting-imports-of-steel-into-the-united-states)
- [CIA World Factbook, Turkmenistan](https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/)

## Related
- [U.S. tariffs by country](https://policyrisk.com/tariffs)
- [All countries](https://policyrisk.com/countries)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/countries/tm (as of 2026-11-04).