October 22, 2015•Update: October 27, 2015
ANKARA
The government will establish a "Retail Council of Turkey" with regulatory and oversight responsibility for the retail trade, Turkish Minister for Customs and Trade said on Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with the Anadolu Agency Editors' Desk, Cenap Asci said that the council would investigate unfair trade practices and the sale of counterfeit goods.
"The council will be very important for the country," Asci said.
Asci said that the government continued to receive complaints about unwanted telephone calls and messaging. The Turkish government received 109,185 complains regarding unwanted commercial text messages, voice calls and emails since July 15, according to the minister.
The minister said that 90 percent of complaints were for unwanted commercial SMS's, 7 percent were for unwanted email and 3 percent related to unwanted voice calls.
According to the regulation which was introduced on July 15, in order to promote or advertise their products and services by email, sms and voice calls, companies are required to first obtain permission from consumers.
Touching upon Turkish trade with neigboring countries such as Iraq and Syria, Asci said that Turkish exports have been particularly affected by the economic decline in neighboring countries caused by the sharp drop in the price of oil.
"Turkey exported more than $12 billion in goods to Iraq in 2014. This year, it seems unlikely that we will reach that number," he added.
To improve commercial traffic with Turkey's neighbors, the minister said that the number of border gates would be increased. "Ten of the existing gates have already upgraded with new technology," the minister added.
Asci also said Turkish and EU officials are working to revise conditions in the Turkey-EU Customs Union, which is a steppingstone to eventual EU membership for Turkey.
Turkey is the only non-EU country which has a customs union agreement with the EU, allowing non-tariff imports and exports in many sectors.
