IKV’S VIEW ON THE REVISION OF THE CUSTOMS UNION

13 MAY 2015

IKV: “It is time to revise the 20-year-old Customs Union between Turkey and the EU.”

Both parties agreed to revise the Customs Union between Turkey and the EU on 12 May 2015.

We, as IKV, consider the agreement on revision of the Customs Union that is among the main cornerstones of the relations between Turkey and the EU since its entry into force on 1 January 1996 as a positive development. We also wish to see that such a step taken at the 10^th anniversary of Turkey-EU accession negotiations would have remarkable contributions to the process.

We, as IKV, believe that it is time for Customs Union between Turkey and the EU, which is approaching its 20^th year, to be revised in line with the structure and requirements of the new global economic system. The current status of Turkey and the EU is different from they used to be 20 years ago. Furthermore, the current global economic system is much more complicated from the economic system of the 1990s. Therefore, revision of the Customs Union in line with the requirements of such changes in the global system is another cornerstone after the entry into force of the Customs Union in 1996. In this process, it is important to remember that the Customs Union was agreed on the basis of the Ankara Agreement and the Additional Protocol. Therefore, remaining provisions of the Association Agreement with regard to free movement and harmonisation in economy should also be put into force.

IKV: “Revision of the Customs Union is the key for Turkey to take part in trade arena of the future.”

We, as IKV, believe that revision of the Customs Union between Turkey and the EU will have important contributions to Turkey.

The revision will provide a window of opportunity for the parties to overcome the chronic problems of the current Customs Union such as visa issue and transport quotas as well as enabling Turkey to build a solid ground for the new generation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that are becoming more important in EU trade policy. From this perspective, the experiences to be gained from the revision negotiations will be the key for Turkey to take part in trade arena of the future, and thus, will help Turkey to take part in the ongoing TTIP negotiations between the EU and the US.

In addition to aforementioned short-term gains, it is possible to have a considerable leap forward in economic activities similar to what happened in 1996 after the Customs Union came into force.

IKV: “Turkish business community should pay attention to this initiative and develop its own stance.”

We, as IKV, would like to remind that Turkish business community should pay attention to this initiative which has an utmost significance and develop its own stance accordingly. In this regard, we would like to attract attention to certain issues for Turkish business community.

1- Improving a negotiation capacity of public and private sectors:

Underlining the experiences of wide-range of NGOs in public, it is important to note that the new generation of FTAs have multi-dimensional nature. Therefore, it is essential for public sector to consult the private sector during the negotiations for the revision of the Customs Union. In this respect, it is necessary to build a strong negotiation capacity for public and private sectors.

2- Building an efficient public-private communication mechanism:

The negotiation capacity does not consist of only information or human resources. Knowledge that can be constantly updated and mobilized accordingly; ways to achieve such knowledge both for public and private sectors; and a strong communication mechanism that will be used to manage the communication between public and private sector are integral parts of this process. In this respect, private sector should insist on to have a permanent representative in the negotiating team of the public sector.

3- Developing a stance for private sector along with a strong will:

Agriculture and services, with no doubt, will be among the most challenging areas of the upcoming trade diplomacy. In addition to these challenges, the experience and willingness of the European negotiators to include new rules to the game should also be underlined. For a “successful” negotiation with the European counterparts, Turkish business community should have a strong negotiating stance. Developing such a strong stance depends on the willingness of Turkish private sector. In this respect, it is of utmost importance to mobilize the knowledge and experience, and thus, Turkish business community should finalise the preparations accordingly.

4- Keeping the visa issue on the agenda:

In this process which is expected to have positive contributions for both parties, the only problematic aspect of the negotiations for business community is the visa requirements applied towards Turkish citizens. Upon the completion of the process, Turkey will be treated as a Member State with regard to transport policy and will no longer encounter quota restrictions. Therefore, the revision will contribute to the solution of one of the chronic problems of the current Customs Union. Yet, it is important to underline that the visa issue is also as problematic as the quota restrictions. In this respect, visa issue should not be considered only with regard to Readmission and Visa Liberalisation Dialogue and should also be discussed in a wider context.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION