Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that in this difficult period, Chambers and Exchanges have a greater duty and responsibility, and that they communicate the problems in the field as quickly as possible, taking on the role of bridge between the business world and the government.

Hisarcıklıoğlu explained that, as TOBB, they are in constant consultation with the Chambers and Exchanges in 81 provinces, “We worked with my brother Suat Selim Kandemir, who is a colleague at TOBB. Every day, we have gathered your problems and proposals. Then we talked to the Ministers one-on-one and made attempts to resolve them. First, in March, when the outbreak began, we presented a 70-point set of proposals to our President. A lot of them have come to life, and they continue to pass. Tax and SSI payments in various sectors have been postponed. The scope of the short work allowance has been expanded, making work faster. Various loan packages for our companies have been implemented.”

Noting that finally, Breath Credits have been implemented with Denizbank, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “7.5% interest, no payments in 2020, payments start in 2021.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that they continue to convey the problems and proposals they have consulted on, “We are in contact with our members without breaks and continue to note difficulties and suggestions. I am also proud to see that you are working with this vision and continuing to serve our members. Thanks to all my presidents, they're working hard. They keep the pulse of our members, they interpret them, they make suggestions and pass them on to us. Today, we will convey every topic you will convey to the relevant ministers. Thus, we will solve the problems of our members, our community, a little bit and relieve them.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that the restrictions have started being lifted at the beginning of the week, “But remember, the epidemic is not over yet, we have just reduced the spread. Now a new process begins. In many sectors, we will have to work with half capacity for a while.”