Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to double the tariff on Turkish steel and aluminum, overall steel exports were up 5.8 percent in the first eight months of the year when compared to the same period last year, reaching 12.7 million tons.

The value of steel exports soared 28.5 percent to $9.6 billion between January and August, compared to the same period in 2017, the association said.

"In the eight-month period of 2018, the value-based increase was recorded to be higher than the quantity-based one," according to Adnan Aslan, head of ÇİB.

The rise in the value was influenced by the price increase of global finished steel products, the report read.

Aslan emphasized that the Turkish steel industry is the eighth largest producer of liquid steel in the world and the second largest producer in Europe.

Turkey's steel exports were valued at $11.5 billion last year, accounting for 7.3 percent of its total exports worth $157 billion, according to the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association.

The U.S. was the top destination for Turkish steel in 2017, with exports worth $1.1 billion.

Turkey came in sixth place among the countries the U.S. imported steel from last year, while the share of Turkish steel was at 7 percent of the total U.S. steel imports. Trump announced on Twitter on Aug. 10 that he had authorized the doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs with respect to Turkey, another salvo in the growing dispute between Turkey and the U.S.

In retaliation, Turkey on Aug. 15 slapped tariffs on several U.S. imports, including alcohol, tobacco products and cars.