Minister of Commerce Omer Bolat stated that they agreed that the ease of origin for the trade of electric vehicles between Turkiye and the United Kingdom will continue until 2027 and said, “In this way, a loss of approximately $615 million in our electric vehicle exports to the United Kingdom has been prevented.”
In his written statement, Minister Bolat stated that the Turkiye-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee decided to extend the transition period regarding the rules of origin of electric vehicles.
Stating that they agreed that the ease of origin provided for the trade of electric vehicles within the scope of the FTA will continue until 2027, Bolat stated that electric vehicles will continue to be exported to the United Kingdom tax-free with flexible rules of origin.
Reminding that Turkiye has been following the issue for a long time, in order to extend the existing rules within the framework of the demands of entrepreneurs, including potential electric vehicle manufacturers in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom, for the continuation of flexible rules of origin, Bolat said:
“As it is known, in the origin protocol of our FTA, flexible rules of origin for electric accumulators and electric vehicles were to be implemented until 2024. With the decision taken on December 21, 2023, this period was extended until 2027. I brought up the issue that the extension of the flexible rules of origin in our FTA is in favor of our country and the United Kingdom, during my meeting with my counterpart in the United Kingdom, Minister of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch, in July, and underlined the importance of the issue. At the same time, I discussed the issue with Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission for Trade, during our meeting in Brussels in October and reminded that this issue is very important for the flow of value chains within the framework of the Turkiye-EU Customs Union.”
Bolat stated that they aim to implement the decision, which was signed as a result of intense efforts, on January 1, 2024, and pointed out that flexible rules of origin will be continued with this decision.
Bolat made the following evaluation:
“It has been ensured that our exporters will continue to benefit from the preferential regime in the FTA for the mentioned products for a while, and they have been prevented from being subject to a 10% customs duty. In this way, a loss of approximately $615 million in our electric vehicle exports to the United Kingdom has been prevented. On the other hand, during this period, time was gained for the finalization of the investments of certain companies, and by 2027, even if strict rules of origin were implemented, we were prepared for the new application with the gains to be gained from the investments.”
Bolat pointed out that these decisions are important for Togg exports in the coming period and emphasized that they will continue to be assertive in this regard. Bolat stated that these studies will enable Turkiye to be ahead in electric vehicle exports on a global scale.
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz