24.04.2024 Ankara
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) working lunch was hosted by M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), with the participation of Mustafa Tuzcu, Deputy Minister of Trade, and Gerassimos Thomas, Director of DG TAXUD, Directorate General for Customs Clearance and General Directorate of the EU Commission.
In his speech, TOBB
President emphasized that Türkiye is one of the most important trade and
investment partners of the European Union countries and said, “Our country's
exports to the EU amounted to 104 billion dollars in 2023, equivalent to 41
percent of our total exports.”
Reminding that the
Carbon Border Adjustment was implemented in 2021 as part of the European Green
Deal policy, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that this process, which started in the iron
and steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizer and electricity sectors, will affect
all sectors in the future.
Hisarcıklıoğlu reported
that the exports of the sectors subject to this regulation to the EU are at the
level of 10 billion dollars, and that the exports in these sectors are 42
percent of total exports. Pointing out that they are obliged to adapt to this process,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the green transformation process also brings new
opportunities.
Stating that the
modernization of the Customs Union will deepen the economic aspect of
Türkiye-EU relations, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed the
problems experienced in the visa issue and asked for a solution to this problem
of the business world without further delay.
Hisarcıklıoğlu also
drew attention to the transportation quotas and said that both Türkiye and EU
entrepreneurs are harmed by the existing transportation quotas.
Explaining that they
need a carbon pricing system that would encourage companies to reduce their
carbon emissions, Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that designing a carbon pricing
system also means determining industrial policy and priorities.
Hisarcıklıoğlu said
that as TOBB, they determined the green transformation process as the most
important field of work, guided their members, provided the services they
needed in technical and administrative terms, created liaison points in each
Chamber, commissioned the climate and environment portal, and opened the Carbon
Platform for the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions at the basic level in
order to increase the awareness of companies.