Nearshoring Turkey vs Asia vs Eastern Europe for Machining

For machined parts, Türkiye, Asia and Eastern Europe differ mainly in customs treatment, transit time and currency exposure. Türkiye supplies industrial goods to the EU at zero customs duty under the EU–Türkiye customs union and delivers by road, Asian suppliers ship by sea under the EU's third-country tariff, and Eastern European suppliers inside the EU sell without customs formalities.

How do Türkiye, Asia and Eastern Europe compare for machined parts?

The criteria below are the ones that change the landed price and the planning effort of a part: customs duty, import clearance, CBAM, transport and time zone. "Eastern Europe" here means EU Member States such as Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. "Asia" means a non-EU Asian origin, with China as the reference where a single country is needed.

Table 1. Sourcing locations compared by criterion, status 2026-10-30

Source: European Commission (Access2Markets, DG TAXUD), UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport 2025, IANA time zone database. The Bursa transit time is Ertaş Engineering's typical figure.

Read the table row by row before ranking the locations. Duty and CBAM status both follow the CN code of the part, so classify the part first.

How does customs treatment differ between the three?

For Türkiye, the customs union covers industrial products and processed agricultural products. The Commission states zero customs duties and zero quotas for the goods it covers. Goods circulate between the two parts of the union when accompanied by proof of their customs status, an A.TR movement certificate. The union does not cover agricultural products or coal and steel products as defined in the ECSC Treaty, which fall under a separate EU–Türkiye free trade agreement. Check the CN code of the part before assuming zero duty. The article on the EU–Türkiye customs union and machined parts goes through what is covered.

For Asia, a part from a non-EU Asian origin pays the Common Customs Tariff rate for its CN code unless a trade agreement gives a preferential rate. Rates differ by CN code and by origin, so this article names none. The Commission's TARIC database is the lookup for a specific code.

Within Eastern Europe, goods moving between EU Member States carry no customs duty and need no import clearance.

Since 1 January 2026 the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism applies in its definitive regime to imports of selected goods in the sectors cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. The Commission describes the resulting obligations as those of importers: authorisation, reporting, and buying and surrendering CBAM certificates. Parts from Türkiye and from Asia are both imports. Supply from a plant in Poland or Romania is not. Whether a given machined part falls in scope depends on its CN code. A Commission proposal, COM(2025) 989, would extend CBAM to downstream goods; as of 2026-10-30 the Commission lists it as a proposal, not as law. The article on CBAM and steel or aluminium parts from Türkiye covers the current scope.

How do transport time and time zone compare?

From Bursa, road transport to central Europe takes 5 to 10 days typically. An Eastern European supplier delivers by road over a shorter distance inside the EU. Sea freight from Asia takes longer and depends on the route. UNCTAD reports that ships which once passed through the Red Sea in days now sail for weeks around the Cape of Good Hope, and that by May 2025 tonnage through the Suez Canal was still 70% below 2023 levels. Ask which route the quoted transit time assumes.

Time zone affects engineering clarifications more than freight. Türkiye has used UTC+3 all year since September 2016, according to the IANA time zone database. Germany and Poland follow Central European Time, and the EU summer-time rule in the same database moves clocks from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. That gives Türkiye an offset of 2 hours to Germany in winter and 1 hour in summer. Romania and Bulgaria use Eastern European Time with the same EU rule, so they stay 1 hour ahead of Germany all year. China uses a single time zone, UTC+8, which puts it 7 hours ahead of Germany in winter and 6 hours in summer. A German engineer and a Turkish programmer share almost the whole working day. With China, the shared working hours fall in the German morning.

How do currency and labour cost compare?

The invoice currency is one question and the supplier's cost base is another. Table 2 collects the indicators that named sources publish.

Table 2. Currency and cost indicators by sourcing location

Source: TURKSTAT via the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye; ECB press release of 1 January 2026; Eurostat, 31 March 2026 (whole economy, enterprises with 10 or more employees).

Labour cost is one input. Material, machine time, scrap and inspection also enter the price of a machined part, so a location with lower hourly labour cost does not give a cheaper part by itself. Compare quotes for the same drawing.

Eurostat's 2025 release covers EU Member States, so it gives no like-for-like labour cost for Türkiye or China. For Türkiye the larger price question is currency and inflation. GTAI reports annual inflation of 32% in April 2026 after 70% in April 2024, a central bank policy rate held at 37.0% since January 2026, and renewed depreciation pressure on the lira. A supplier carries that risk when you pay in euro and prices it into the validity period of the quote or an adjustment clause. Ask for both. Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026, so a euro quote there carries no exchange rate risk. Suppliers in Poland, Hungary and Romania have costs in national currency.

Which location suits which type of order?

These are tendencies, not rules, and each depends on the CN code of the part and on current quotes.

• Türkiye fits repeat orders where a transit of days and zero duty on industrial goods matter, and where the part is outside the ECSC and CBAM lists.
• Asia fits stable series where a sea transit of weeks can be planned and stock can be held on the buyer's side.
• Eastern Europe fits orders where a short road transit, no customs and no CBAM obligations outweigh a price that must be checked per quote.

A dual-source setup combines two locations for the same part family. The article on China+1 for machined parts shows where Türkiye fits in one.

What should you align before comparing quotes?

Quotes from three regions are only comparable when the commercial basis is the same. Align these points first:

• One Incoterms rule in every quote, for example FCA or DAP. The article on Incoterms 2020 for Turkey–EU shipments compares them.
• The same drawing revision, quantities, general tolerance class and material certificate type.
• The quote currency and the price validity period.
• The CN code of the part, so duty, ECSC and CBAM status are checked once and apply to every quote.
• A landed cost per part rather than an ex-works price. The landed cost model for machined parts from Türkiye lists the cost lines.

Frequently asked questions

Do machined parts from Türkiye attract EU import duty?

Industrial goods covered by the EU–Türkiye customs union move at zero customs duty when accompanied by an A.TR movement certificate. Coal and steel products as defined in the ECSC Treaty are outside the union, so the CN code of the part has to be checked.

Does CBAM apply to parts from Eastern European suppliers?

No importer obligations arise for supply from another EU Member State, because CBAM applies to imports. For Türkiye and Asian origins it applies to imports of the listed iron, steel and aluminium goods, depending on the CN code.

How far ahead of Germany is Türkiye?

Two hours in winter and one hour in summer. Türkiye has used UTC+3 all year since September 2016, while Germany switches between UTC+1 and UTC+2.

Does Eurostat publish labour costs for Türkiye and China?

Not in its 2025 hourly labour cost release, which covers EU Member States: EU average €34.9, Bulgaria €12.0, Romania €13.6, Hungary €15.2. For Türkiye and China, compare quotes on the same drawing instead.

How long does road delivery from Bursa to central Europe take?

5 to 10 days is typical for road transport from Bursa to central Europe. The exact time depends on the destination, the carrier and customs clearance.

Sources

1. European Commission, Access2Markets: EU–Türkiye customs union
2. European Commission, DG TAXUD: Türkiye, customs union and preferential arrangements
3. European Commission, DG TAXUD: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
4. European Commission, DG TAXUD: CBAM legislation and guidance
5. UNCTAD: Maritime trade under pressure, growth set to stall (Review of Maritime Transport 2025)
6. Eurostat: EU hourly labour costs ranged from €12 to €57 in 2025 (31 March 2026)
7. Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye: consumer prices, TURKSTAT series
8. GTAI: Wirtschaftsausblick Türkei (11 June 2026)
9. ECB: euro enters circulation in Bulgaria (1 January 2026)
10. IANA time zone database, file europe (Europe/Istanbul, EU summer-time rule, Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, Berlin)
11. IANA time zone database, file asia (Asia/Shanghai)

Questions on a drawing? sales@ertas.engineering

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