Trade Minister Ömer Bolat speaking in his budget presentation to the Parliamentary Plan and Budget Committee, stated that roadmaps for the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism for four sectors are at final stages: iron and steel, aluminum, cement, and fertilizer.
Providing information about the work carried out within the scope of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, Bolat said that the technical information needed by companies is provided through the help desks established in chambers, unions, and organized industrial zones together with the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Bolat announced that the Ministry of Industry and Technology’s work with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on sectoral decarbonization roadmaps for iron and steel, aluminum, cement, and fertilizer is nearing completion in order to reduce the burden of verification and financial obligations that will start in 2026.
Bolat gave information about the activities carried out regarding exorbitant price increases and stated that they carried out meticulous work to eliminate the unjust treatment caused by the speculative prices in the real estate sector as well as in the automotive sector. “We have achieved positive results in favor of our citizens by putting out the fire in vehicle prices. We will achieve the same success in the real estate market as well very soon by preventing speculative rental advertisement” he said.
As of November 1, Bolat pointed out that the obligation to verify the identity and contact information of those who place advertisements on advertisement platforms has entered into force, and said that they imposed an administrative fine of TRY 54.5 million on 545 real estate businesses that engaged in unfair commercial practices by mediating unfair price increases in housing sales advertisements.
Stating that a total of 9 thousand 761 companies and 44 thousand 802 products were inspected in 2023, Bolat noted that as of October 15 in 2023, they imposed a total fine of TRY 90 million in inspections related to extreme price increases, and a total of TRY 230 million in inspections related to price tags, product safety and distance contracts.
Earthquake impact: USD 6 billion
Minister Bolat stated that exports were realized as USD 61.5 billion in the first quarter of the year, USD 61.7 billion in the second quarter and USD 64 billion in the third quarter, and noted that the effect of the earthquake on exports in the February-September period was calculated as approximately USD 6 billion. Bolat stated that the decline in the foreign trade deficit is expected to continue in the coming period and that the decline in the foreign trade deficit will also support the decline in the current account deficit.
USD 29,8 billion support for exporters
Stating that they provided USD 45 billion of support in 2022, Bolat said that a total of USD 29.8 billion of support was provided by Türk Eximbank in the first nine months in 2023 and that they targeted an export support volume of USD 41 billion at the end of this year. According to the information given by Minister Bolat, the Export Development Inc. (IGE), which started its operations in March 2022, provided TRY 47.7 billion (USD 1.68 billion) of guarantees to more than 11 thousand exporters as of October 25, and this amount is expected to reach TRY 55 billion by the end of the year.
Overseas contractor projects set to exceed USD 500 billion
Noting that Turkish contracting companies have undertaken more than 11,800 projects abroad worth USD 486 billion, Bolat said that they aim for the total amount of the projects to exceed USD 500 billion next year.
