27.07.2018 Ankara
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Turkey National Committee 64th General Meeting was held at TOBB Social Facilities. ICC President and Chairman of the National Committee of Turkey, M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, touching on the fact that in recent months, a range of tariffs and taxes have come into force, said, “Trade wars are a formidable threat. Recent data from Europe and Asia points to a decline in new export orders. In particular, the US' new-era trade policy makes global trade conditions more and more challenging. The growing tension between the two largest economies of the world has made the global canonical trade order which has been going on for 70 years a matter of debate.” The TOBB President said that the United States' 700bn$ trade surplus is due to trade with China, and that 100bn$ is seen as an acceptable level by the US.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the largest business
organization working to increase trade and investment in the world,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said. It was founded by a group of entrepreneurs with the
slogan, “merchants of peace” to alleviate the damage caused by World War II in
international trade. Over time, the ICC has gathered private sector
representatives from different countries under one umbrella and has become an institution
for increasing trade in the world and removing barriers to trade. Today, ICC's
global network includes more than 6 million entrepreneurs, trade chambers and
professional associations in more than 100 countries. In our country, the ICC
Turkey National Committee, which operates under TOBB, is the eyes and ears of the
Turkish business community in the international arena.”
- ICC's activities
Hisarcıklıoğlu said that activities were realized for the business world
in the past, “We organized an international conference on ‘Facilitation and
Standardization of Customs Procedures’ in Istanbul. Approximately 300
representatives from relevant ministries, international organizations and
customs experts and the business community attended the conference. We
introduced ICC Arbitration, which aims at resolving disputes between commercial
parties. We provided the business community with ICC publications which are
used as reference in international trade and their Turkish translations.
The ICC Turkey National Committee and the ICC International Court of
Arbitration in cooperation with TOBB organized ‘Turkey ICC Arbitration Day’ in
Istanbul. With over 350 guests including experts of the field, from the Supreme
Court and the Ministry of Justice, public and private legal advisors, judges,
lawyers and academics. The traditional international ‘Turkey ICC Arbitration
Day’ will be held for the second time in Istanbul on February 15th,
2019”
- State of global trade
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, pointed out that global commodity
trade increased by 4.7% in 2017 and reached its highest growth rate since 2011,
however, he noted that this process is under new threats. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that disagreements over global trade, increased protectionism, rising interest
rates and oil prices are the main threats.
Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the FED is expected to continue raising
interest rates for the next two years, considering strong employment in the
United States and moderate inflation. “This results in both the appreciation of
the dollar and the increase in interest rates, as well as returning of global
liquidity to the US. Investors withdrew 14bn$ this year from emerging markets
only in May and June.
In addition, the US argues that China, while becoming a member of the
WTO in 2001, does not fulfill the promise of opening up markets to other member
states in accordance with global rules, and continues to take restrictive
measures towards the Chinese market. The ongoing salvoes between China and the
United States could cause serious harm, even if it does not end the current canonical
global trade order. In particular, we face the risk of weakening the strength
and effectiveness of the WTO. Our country is also an important part of the
global trading system.
We rank 22nd in global exports with a share of 1.2%. Global
imports are at 15% with a share of 1.6%. It is, therefore, to our benefit that
institutions such as the WTO and ICC, which support canonical global trade, are
powerful and effective. Next year we will celebrate ICC’s centennial
anniversary. We plan to introduce and promote the responsibilities taken on by the
ICC in our country and the services it provides to our business community.
Today, with globalization, cross-border trade has grown steadily; the
importance of the ICC, which is the guiding force in international trade, is
increasing day by day. At the same time, the ICC has undertaken very important
functions, such as the work carried out on the international scene and the
decisions and principles affecting the private sector being taken by the
governments of many countries. ICC has played an important role in reports that
the World Trade Organization and the United Nations have prepared.
In December 2016, the ICC gained United Nations Observer status, making the
voice of the global business world be more prominent in the United Nations
General Council. Sustainable economic growth, employment, economic cooperation,
combating protectionism and the global refugee crisis are the primary areas of
cooperation of the ICC in the eyes of the United Nations. Therefore, the
projects carried out by our chambers for refugees have the opportunity to be
transmitted to the United Nations through the ICC.”
- The Court of Appeals
TOCB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the ICC's most important
service to the business world is the work carried out in the area dispute resolution.
He underlined that ICC International Arbitration Board is one of the leading
arbitration centers of the world. In 2017, 810 new applications were made to
the ICC Arbitration Court. Hisarcıklıoğlu said that 49 of the said cases involved
Turkish parties, “17 Turkish Arbitrators have been appointed. Arbitration
proceedings result in a much faster process than the ordinary court process.
Thus, business people save on time and they look to the future more
confidently, thanks to effective and competent decision makers at the point conflict
resolution.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu thanked Prof.Dr. Dr. Ziya Akıncı who has taken part in
the ICC International Court of Arbitration for 4 terms since 2006 in order to
continuously present the developments of the ICC on the issue of arbitration to
the service of our business world and that Turkey would be represented by Prof.
Dr. Ercüment Erdem in the coming term.