CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RELATED MEASURES TAKEN IN THE FIELD OF TRANSPORTATION AND FOREIGN TRADE

Hüseyin Cahit SOYSAL
Board Member
 

Question 1. Has Turkey closed any border gates?

Answer 1. Yes. Following the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran and Iraq, Turkey has closed its Gürbulak, Esendere and Kapıköy border gates with Iran to traffic. Later, the Habur Border Gate, which is our border gate with Iraq, was also closed to traffic. Finally, the border gates between Syria and Turkey, especially Cilvegözü, have also been closed to traffic.

Question 2. Do these measures also apply to airports?

Answer 2. Yes, they do. Turkey has canceled flights to countries exposed to COVID-19 and has also closed airports to planes coming from these countries. However, Turkish citizens in the mentioned countries who are in a difficult situation were transported to the country by private planes and subjected to a 14-day quarantine.

Question 3. Are there any measures taken regarding passengers coming from the countries to which flights are made or arriving by sea?

Answer 3. Yes, there are. 4,650,000 passengers have been subject to checks with thermal cameras at airports to date. The number of people who have undergone thermal camera checks at sea ports has reached 16,000.

Question 4. Is the same procedure applied to citizens who engage in religious tourism?

Answer 4. No. Regardless of whether they have any symptoms of the epidemic, all passengers who go to Saudi Arabia for the “Umrah” pilgrimage and return to the country have been quarantined for 14 days.

Question 5. Have there been any restrictions on foreign goods traffic?

Answer 5. No, there have not been any. As of now, it is possible to send goods to Turkey or receive goods from Turkey. There is no obstacle to either the export or import of goods. Only products such as health masks, health gloves, and health clothing were subject to preliminary permission for export, considering the country's needs.

Question 6. Is there a decrease in the traffic of goods subject to foreign trade?

Answer 6. Yes. In particular, a decrease is observed in goods shipped from the People's Republic of China to Turkey. However, the amount of the decrease has not yet been announced statistically.

Question 7. Are the customs administrations responsible for controlling the traffic of goods continuing to provide services?

Answer 7. Yes. All customs directorates continue to carry out customs procedures. However, it has been determined that compulsory leave has been imposed in some administrations. It has not yet been determined how this will be reflected in the transaction volumes of the said administrations.

Question 8. Are other foreign trade actors also working at full capacity in the field

Answer 8. It has been learned that some banks have sent some of their employees to their homes to work as "home offices" and that the number of employees working in branches is kept at a limited level. The same situation applies to Chambers of Commerce and Industry. It has been determined that some personnel of international transportation companies, customs consultancy companies, agencies, temporary storage companies and customs warehouse companies are also given “compulsory leave”.

Question 9. Are there any measures taken for employees working in customs administrations and operators performing foreign trade transactions?

Answer 9. Customs administrations and companies performing foreign trade transactions are taking their own measures to the extent of their means. These measures are not limited to cleaning the workplace, using masks and hygienic products that provide hand hygiene, but are also postponing meetings and other events, seating employees less frequently in the same hall, and canceling business trips.

Question 10. Is it possible to carry out foreign trade operations without risk with these measures?

Answer 10. No, it is not. In fact, members of the sector are demanding from public institutions that TIR trucks exceed their transit times should not be fined, that transactions should be completed without physical inspection of goods subject to foreign trade during the crisis, that customs transactions should be completed without documents such as circulation certificate and origin certificate issued by chambers of commerce, that periods determined by customs legislation regarding regime practices or other practices should be extended, and that taxes should be deposited in banks other than public banks.