Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that the world’s economy is undergoing fluctuations and stated that the global trade volume has lost its vitality. Reporting a rise in protective legislation in especially developed countries, the TOBB president said, “On the other hand, we are living in a world of very few borders and rules. Production volume used to be low enough that whatever you produced would sell. This is not the case anymore. Consumers research for and seek certain levels of standards in the products they will buy. Not just consumers, but industrialists will seek out intermediary goods of certain standards. You must have standards if you want to conduct business. That is the rule.”

- TSE must gain brand value

Stating that they expect a strong economy, strong industry and strong TSE, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on:

“We believe that the TSE logo will become a well-known and important brand domestically and internationally.

Internationally valid documents for products are a green passport in global trade. This cuts down on time and money wasted at customs gates. Likewise, domestically, citizens are reassured in that the government has conducted the necessary research into a product.

This means that the domestic market is kept active as well engendering a view of dependable government. That is why, as the industrialists of our country, we have always supported and will continue to support increasing the institutional capacity of the TSE and its private sector focused operation. I believe that having the Minister of Industry with us today is an important opportunity.

The Minister has always stood by us, listened to our troubles and searched for solutions with us. He took a revolutionary step towards the domestic production incentive we’ve been asking for years. Public government tenders will provide a 15% price advantage for goods for domestically produced goods.

He has ensured 5^th region incentives are granted nationwide in order to incentivize high technology focused investments aiming to assist with the transition of our industry to high technology. He has also pioneered the way for a public investment enterprise to bring natural gas to OIZs in provinces which are experiencing difficulty with natural gas distribution.

We are greatly pleased to have a Minister of Industry with a vision focused on the development and strengthening of industry; I would like to present our thanks for his endeavors once again. It is my hope that under his leadership, TSE will focus on the private sector in the future and develop cooperation with our Chambers in all provinces.

An important problem for our industrialists is the service costs of the TSE. TSE has taken an important step forward to state that it will not be increasing its prices for lab work and documentation in 2015. We hope that the scope of this step will be extended.”

- Documents and reports compiled by TSE

Stating that it is necessary to increase the international validity of documents and reports compiled by TSE in the international arena, Hisarcıklıoğlu stressed the need to have TSE more actively pursue this goal.

“We hope that TSE will take on a consultative role for the Turkish industrialists, to provide guidance and direction. I am sure that TSE will increase its role in not just Turkey but also in the region, becoming a leader in its field.”

- Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Işık

Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Işık stated that as the world is heading towards a single document, single standard in standardization, documentation, testing and inspections; this will add to the importance and influence of TSE.

Stating that standardization and documentation are major components of global competition, quality as well as market power and activity, Işık said, “We want to increase the number of high quality and reliable products made by our country all over the world. The way to achieve this is through the production of goods and services compliant with global standards.”

Minister Işık stated that they want to increase the activity and power of TSE in Turkey as well as increasing its competitive power in the world.

Providing information in regards to the TSE, Işık reported that the International Conformity Assessment Service Inc. (ICAS) has been established in order to earn a larger share of the international conformity assessment market 200 billion USD market.