Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said Brexit would affect Turkey both economically and politically, reminding that economic, commercial and political relations with the UK have always been always very important for Turkey. Hisarcıklıoğlu said that all governments in the UK have showed support Turkey's EU accession process.

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that there are analyses that Turkey is among the countries that will be most negatively affected by trade after Brexit, “Our EU Customs Union advantage will end, especially compared to countries in the far east. We will now be subject to the same customs duty as these countries. So as our cost swells, theirs will fall. Therefore, the top two countries that will benefit the most from Brexit will be the United States and China.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu, noting that Brexit will affect Turkey both economically and politically, said:

“Our desire is to make a separate FTA with the UK as soon as possible. The FTA will benefit the UK as well. Half of the $8 billion in imports from the UK will be subject to additional customs duties after Brexit. So the UK's exports of about $4 billion will suffer from this. In total, 70% of our bilateral trade after Brexit, about $14 billion, will be negatively impacted.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that TEPAV has carried out a very comprehensive study to evaluate all these processes and prepare for the future, and urged public institutions and companies to benefit from it.

Dominick Chilcott, the British Ambassador to Ankara, said they would set tariffs in accordance with the goal of becoming a commercial and global leader.

Chilcott noting that the FTA to be negotiated between the two countries is one of the most important goals which needs to be reached, said, “However, we will not try to bring our laws and regulations into a form in accordance with EU Legislation. Otherwise, it would be contrary to our goal of regaining our sovereignty at the heart of our reason for Brexit.”

TEPAV Executive Director Sibel Güven said they have prepared a report for both exports and imports, including impact analyses on the basis of individual products and sectors, for healthy execution of the process.

Stating that they have prepared an internet application on the subject, Güven said that companies can also obtain information about the status of their products there.