Minister announced… Supplement ‘Green Transformation’ is coming

ANKARA (IGFA) – Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat recalled during the “Green Agreement Harmony Project Promotion Meeting” held at the ministry that the Turkish economy grew by 5.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, saying that 1.6 percentage points of this came from foreign trade. Emphasizing that they increased their exports to $255.4 billion last year, the highest level in the history of the Republic, Bolat stated that within the framework of the customs union arrangement between Turkey and the European Union (EU), mutual trade increased to $211 billion in 2023.

Minister Bolat pointed out that about $104 billion of the said amount came from Turkey’s exports and $107 billion from the EU’s exports, saying: “Last year, 41 percent of the export part of the total foreign trade composition was exported to the EU, and 30 percent of the import part came from the EU. It was created by imports from . “From 2002 to May this year, $267.1 billion of foreign direct investment came to Turkey, of which $110.2 billion came from the EU,” he said.

Minister Bolat said the Green Deal Action Plan was developed to further promote the economic integration achieved through the Customs Union and establish a roadmap that ensures adaptation to the possible impacts of climate change and effort policies on international trade.

“THE SHARE OF OUR EXPORTS IN 6 SECTORS IN OUR TOTAL EXPORTS TO THE EU IS 49 PERCENT”

Bolat stated that the sectors identified by the EU within the scope of the “Border Carbon Regulation Mechanism” are iron-steel, cement, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen, weaving and clothing, stating that these are the sectors that are fastest and most affected by the green transformation process. Underlining the need for rapid adaptation of these sectors to the final carbon regulation, Minister Bolat said: “The share of our exports from these 6 sections in our total exports to the EU is 49 percent, that is half.” Bolat pointed out the importance of providing comprehensive support in terms of awareness and creating a roadmap for the process, stating that legislative changes such as eco-design regulations that come into effect within the scope of the transition to a circular economy will directly affect exports to the EU.

Trade Minister Bolat said that the issuance of a digital product passport will become a rule for entering the EU market and that such practices necessitate the digital transformation of companies.

“MONITORING AND VERIFICATION ADVICE OF PROJECTS IS SUPPORTED”

Bolat explained that the ministry supports exporters with the ‘Responsible Program’ for the sustainability of exports:

“Our goal with the Green Agreement Harmony Project Supplement, which will be implemented under the name of the program, is to guide our exporting companies in the green and digital transformation process. To ensure compliance with green and digital transformation from an institutional perspective and to enable the sustainability of exports in this sense. The costs of advisory services received by our companies under the name of the Responsible Program will be supported by our Ministry up to a total of 5 million liras, on condition that this is supported at a rate of 50 percent for 10 years.”

Bolat indicated that there is a preliminary evaluation on the portal, which is accessible through the website “responsible.gov.tr”, so that companies that do not participate in the consultancy process can also analyze the current situation.

Bolat stated that the program consists of 3 basic phases and said: “In phase 1, which is the first phase, the current situation analysis of the company is carried out within the framework of the sustainability criteria and parameters determined on a branch basis. In the second step, technical and financial feasibility advice is supported for the implementation of the sustainability roadmap on a project basis. We will route the project, whose technical and financial feasibility has been prepared, from the Responsible portal to the HDI Guarantee Portal. “This way, our companies can forward the financing request for the implementation of the project to the banking department through the portal and evaluate the loan offers from banks in a competitive environment through the portal,” he said.

Trade Minister Bolat explained that the final phase will support monitoring and verification of the projects implemented and track the progress of exports and exporters.

Bolat indicated that the ministry will also support the costs of IT and sustainability consultancy for companies in setting up a business infrastructure. In this regard, there will be cooperation with the Public Oversight, Accounting and Control Standards Authority, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Finance.

“WORK CONTINUES ON FINANCIAL REPORTING AND INDEPENDENT AUDIT”

Deputy Minister of Finance and Finance Abdullah Erdem Cantimur stated that the Public Oversight, Accounting and Control Standards Authority has continued its work in the field of financial reporting and independent auditing since the year of its establishment. Cantimur noted that the public oversight, quality, assurance, assessment and sanction systems established by the institution are equivalent to those of EU member states and have been accepted by the European Committee.