04.08.2015 Ankara
Speaking at the 61st General Assembly of ICC Turkey, ICC Turkey National Committee and TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, emphasizing that protective policies are restricting the world’s economy, said, “Protective policies must be repealed at once, making trade the driving force behind the world economy’s growth.” Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The pie isn’t growing at a desirable rate. This is inciting protective policies.”
ICC Turkey National Committee’s 61st General Assembly was
held at the TOBB Social Facilities. In his opening speech of the General
Assembly, ICC Turkey National Committee and TOBB President M. Rifat
Hisarcıklıoğlu spoke about the failure to achieve stability in the global
economy since the 2008 global crisis and said, “While we fix up one side,
problems spring up on the other side. While we anticipated improvements with
the start of 2015 with the USA beginning to recover, we are now faced with an
altogether different picture. The change in the Euro-Dollar exchange rates and
the rapid drop in petroleum prices have effected all countries differently.
Rising market economies like ours have been effected the worst by these
development.”
Speaking in regards to the problems facing the economies of Argentina,
Brazil, Russia and China, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “These developments are
considered among the most important by the ICC in regards to global trade.”
Pointing out declining trade figures, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The pie isn’t
growing at a desirable rate. This is inciting protective policies. In just the
last year, 4,436 protective policies were identified, 2,999 of which were
implemented by G20 countries. In short, we are still on a fluctuating path in
regards to global economy.”
- B20 activities
Hisarcıklıoğlu provided information in regards to the activities of B20,
the business arm of the G20 lead by Turkey this term, of which he is the
Chairman. Reporting that, for the first time, two new taskforces have been
established this year to address the issues pertaining to SMEs and
Entrepreneurship, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they considered it their duty to
ensure that SMEs which form the basis of all economy be better represented in
the global arena and, to this end, have established the World SME Forum along
with the ICC and the World Chambers Federation.
- ICC’s mission
Also providing information in regards to ICC’s activities,
Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that its primary mission is to eliminate conflicting
practices throughout the world which present obstacles to trade between
countries.
Reporting that many seminars, conferences and trainings have been held
in order to acclimate the Turkish business community to the ICC, Hisarcıklıoğlu
stated that one of the most important services ICC provides to the business
world is arbitration. ICC Turkey National Committee and TOBB President M. Rifat
Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that 794 disputes have been relayed to the Arbitration
Council of which 494 have been resolved.