European Union–Turkey Customs Union

Customs union between Turkey and European Union

Economy of Turkey

Economic history

* 2000s boom
* 2001 economic crisis
* Economic crisis (2018-present)

Money

* Turkish lira
* Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey

Stock exchange

* Istanbul Stock Exchange
* Companies listed on ISE

Major projects

* Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline
* European Union–Turkey Customs Union
* Nabucco pipeline
* Southeastern Anatolia Project
* Land ownership

Related topics

* Energy in Turkey
* Geography of Turkey
* Minimum wage in Turkey
* Science and technology in Turkey
* Telecommunications in Turkey
* Tourism in Turkey
* Transport in Turkey

Turkey portal

* v
* t
* e

This article is part of a series about the

Turkey in Europe

* * *

Turkey and the European Union

* Association Agreement
* Customs Union
* Membership Negotiations
* Bilateral Relations
* Erasmus Programme

Turkish Institutions for EU Affairs

* Ministry
* Chief Negotiator
* Directorate

* * *

Turkish–European Integration

Foreign and Military Policies

* NATO
* CoE
* EPC
* ESSI
* OSCE

Economic

* EBRD
* OECD
* UN Western Europe
* UNECE
* FATF
* BSEC

Science

* CERN[a]
* ESF
* ESA[b]

Aviation and Transportation

* Eurocontrol
* ECAC
* ACI Europe
* Interrail
* ETC
* European Road Network

Sports

* UEFA
* EuroLeague
* EGA
* CEV
* EuroHockey
* EOC

Media Infrastructure and Entertainment

* EBU
* Eurovision

* * *

Historical

* EEC
* CEEC
* Marshall Plan

Europe portal
Turkey portal
European Union portal

* v
* t
* e

Commemorative Turkish coin for EU-Turkey customs union Candidate country Turkey and the European Union

The European Union–Turkey Customs Union is a trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Turkey. The agreement came into effect on 31 December 1995, following a 6 March 1995 decision of the European Community–Turkey Association Council to implement a customs union (Turkish: Gümrük Birliği) between the two parties.[1] Goods may travel between the two entities without any customs restrictions. The Customs Union does not cover essential economic areas such as agriculture (to which bilateral trade concessions apply), services or public procurement.

In 1996, a free trade area was established between Turkey and the European Union for products covered by the European Coal and Steel Community. Decision 1/98 of the Association Council covers trade in agricultural products.

In addition to providing for a common external tariff for the products covered, the Customs Union foresees that Turkey is to align to the acquis communautaire in several essential internal market areas, notably with regard to industrial standards.

According to a 2020 study, the agreement boosted trade between the EU and Turkey. In manufacturing, there was a 55–65 per cent increase in EU‐Turkey trade compared with the Ankara Agreement.[2]

## Results for Turkey

[edit]

The customs union increased both imports and exports in Turkey,[3] as well as its GDP per capita.[4] Turkey's membership of the customs union is recognised as having played a significant part in its economy's transition from agrarian to industrial.[5]

As Turkey is in a customs union with the EU, it has to adjust its tariffs and duties to match those of the EU. However, the free trade agreements (FTAs) signed by the EU do not extend to Turkey, so the EU's FTA partners can export to Turkey tariff-free, while maintaining tariffs on Turkish goods, unless they also conclude a separate FTA agreement with Turkey. During the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Turkey raised the prospect of leaving the customs union over the economic contraction it would suffer as American goods would enter Turkey tariff-free and Turkish goods would continue to face American tariffs. The EU and Turkey have been in negotiations for amending the customs union agreement to add Turkey to the EU's present and future FTAs.[6][7][8]

## EU member state candidacy

[edit]

Main article: Accession of Turkey to the European Union

Turkey has been an associate member of the European Community (EC) since 1964, following the signing in 1963 of the Ankara Agreement (EEC-Turkey Association Agreement (1963)) with the EEC. Turkey applied for full membership on 14 April 1987.

The decision to consider Turkey's application was deferred until 1993, because the European Community was in the process of becoming the even (politically and economically) tighter European Union. The fall of the Soviet Union and German reunification delayed the decision on Turkish membership even more. During those years the European Community had also become reluctant to consider Turkey's application.

At the Helsinki summit in December 1999 Turkey was given the status of a candidate country. At the end of 2004, the European Commission has issued a report with positive recommendations to the European Council, indicating the degree of compliance by Turkey of the Copenhagen political criteria. On this basis, the European Council decided to start accession negotiations with Turkey on 3 October 2005. Since then, no significant progress has been made towards membership nor is there evidence of political will to do so.

## Update proposals

[edit]

In December 2016, the European Commission released an assessment proposing to update and modernize the agreement which includes services and public procurement.[9] The report concluded with two options; Enhanced Commercial Framework (ECF) or Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).[10] As of 2020 March, the Council hadn't adapted either of the proposals. Since 2015, the Turkish government has had several meetings to assess updating the agreement.[11]

## Euro-Mediterranean free trade area

[edit]

Turkey is also a member of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and as such is interested in concluding free trade agreements with all other Mediterranean partners, with a view to the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area, originally aimed for by 2010.

## Criticism

[edit]

The agreement is criticized by some, as the agreement itself does not provide any political or economic powers to Turkey in the European Union while granting some to the Union towards Turkey; thus it is compared to the capitulations of the Ottoman Empire. [12]

## See also

[edit]

* European Union–Turkey relations
* European Union Customs Union
* Ankara Agreement

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ association
2. ^ cooperation

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Turkey - Trade - European Commission". ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
2. ^ Larch, Mario; Schmeißer, Aiko F.; Wanner, Joschka (2020). "A Tale of (almost) 1001 Coefficients: The Deep and Heterogeneous Effects of the EU-Turkey Customs Union". JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. 59 (2): 242–260. doi:10.1111/jcms.13058. hdl:10419/198858. ISSN 1468-5965.
3. ^ Bilin Neyapti, Fatma Taskin and Murat Üngör. "Has European Customs Union Agreement Really Affected Turkey's Trade?" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
4. ^ Aytuğ, Hüseyin; Kütük, Merve Mavuş; Oduncu, Arif; Togan, Sübidey (2017). "Twenty Years of the EU-Turkey Customs Union: A Synthetic Control Method Analysis" (PDF). JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. 55 (3): 419–431. doi:10.1111/jcms.12490. hdl:11693/37085. S2CID 53560157. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
5. ^ "The EU and Turkey need each other. Could upgrading the customs union be the key?". 29 August 2017. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
6. ^ "The EU-Turkey Customs Union in the light of TTIP and beyond the economic relations". 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
7. ^ "Talks between Turkey, EU to update Customs Union deal to start in 2017". Daily Sabah. 30 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
8. ^ "Turkey avoids economic pain with EU trade agreement". 6 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
9. ^ "Turkey - Trade - European Commission". ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
10. ^ "Study of the EU-Turkey" (PDF). European Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
11. ^ "T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı". Ministry of Trade (Turkey) (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
12. ^ Metin Aydoğan [in Turkish]. "Avrupa Birliğini Yaratan Nedenler ve Türkiye" [Reasons Which Created the European Union, and Turkey] (PDF) (in Turkish). Retrieved 22 January 2024. "Anlayışını 19.yüzyıl sömürgeciliğinden alan Gümrük Birliği Protokolü'yle Türkiye ekonomik, siyasal ve hukuksal hükümranlık haklarını, üye olmadığı bir dış güce devretmeyi kabul ediyor ve kendisini Avrupa'nın bir yarı – sömürgesi haline getiriyordu. Gümrük Birliği Protokolü tam ve tartışmasız bir biçimde ağır bir kapitülasyon anlaşmasıydı" [With Customs Union Protocol which gets its mentality from 19th century colonialism, Turkey was accepting to delegate its political and legal sovereignty rights to a foreign power which [Turkey] is not a member and was transforming itself into a semi-colony of Europe. Customs Union Protocol was fully and unequivocally, a harsh capitulation agreement]

## External links

[edit]

* Turkey border gridlock hints at pain to come for Brexit Britain The Financial Times, February 16, 2017

* v
* t
* e

Turkey

History|

| Ancient and Middle Ages|

* Prehistory of Anatolia
* Classical Anatolia
* Byzantine Anatolia

|

Seljuks and Beyliks|

* Seljuk Empire
* Battle of Manzikert
* Sultanate of Rum
* Anatolian beyliks

Ottoman Empire|

* Rise
* Classical Age
* Conquest of Constantinople
* Transformation
* Ottoman Old Regime
* Tulip era
* Decline and modernization
* Tanzimat
* First Constitutional Era
* Second Constitutional Era
* Dissolution
* Partition

Republic of Türkiye|

* War of Independence
* Proclamation of the republic
* Atatürk's reforms
* Language reform
* Secularism
* One-party period
* Multi-party period

Overviews|

* Constitutional
* Economic
* Ottoman
* Military

Topics|

* Turkic migration
* Oghuz Turks
* Turkification
* Ancient peoples of Anatolia
* History of Anatolia
* History of Thrace

Geography|

| Regions
(west to east)|

* Marmara Region
* Aegean Region
* Mediterranean Region
* Black Sea Region
* Central Anatolia Region
* Eastern Anatolia Region
* Southeastern Anatolia Region

|

Topics|

* Climate
* Climate change
* Earthquakes
* East Anatolian Fault
* North Anatolian Fault
* Environmental issues
* Air pollution
* Waste management
* Fauna
* Flora and vegetation
* Geology
* Lakes
* Mountains
* National parks
* Rivers
* Turkish Riviera
* Wildlife

Government|

| Branches|

* Legislative
* Executive
* Cabinet
* Judicial
* Constitutional Court
* Court of Cassation
* Court of Jurisdictional Disputes
* Council of State

|

Politics|

* Elections
* Parliamentary elections
* Presidential elections
* Electoral system
* Political parties
* Referendums

Topics|

* Administrative divisions
* Foreign relations
* Intelligence Services
* Ministry of the Interior
* National Police
* Gendarmerie
* The constitutional system
* Turkish Armed Forces
* Air Force
* Land
* Navy

Economy|

* Automotive
* Banking and Finance
* Construction
* Currency
* Defense
* Energy
* Coal
* Gas
* Oil
* Renewables
* Free trade agreements
* Science and technology
* Telecommunications
* Tourism
* Transportation
* Aviation
* Turkish Airlines
* Railways

Demographics|

* Turkish people
* Ethnic Kurds
* Minorities
* Languages
* Turkish language
* Religion
* Islam in Turkey
* Cities and towns
* Istanbul
* Ankara
* İzmir
* Immigration
* Life expectancy

Society|

* Education
* Universities
* Health care
* Human rights
* LGBT rights
* Individuals
* Law enforcement
* Crime
* Corruption
* Terrorism
* Marriage
* Poverty
* Women in Turkey

| Culture|

* Anthem
* Architecture
* Seljuk
* Ottoman
* Art
* Carpet
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Ottoman
* Festivals
* Flag
* Folk dance
* Folklore
* Illumination
* Intangible cultural heritage
* Literature
* Media
* TV
* Newspapers
* Radio stations
* Miniature
* Music
* Names
* Painting
* Pottery
* Sports
* Football
* Theater
* TV series
* Video games
* Wine
* World heritage sites

|

* Portal
* Category
* Commons
* WikiProject
* Outline

* v
* t
* e

Foreign relations of Turkey

Bilateral relations

| Africa|

| Central|

* Angola
* Cameroon
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Equatorial Guinea
* Gabon

|

East|

* Burundi
* Djibouti
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Kenya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mauritius
* Mozambique
* Rwanda
* Seychelles
* Somalia
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

North|

* Algeria
* Egypt
* Libya
* Morocco
* Tunisia

Southern|

* Namibia
* South Africa

West|

* Benin
* Burkina Faso
* Cape Verde
* Côte d'Ivoire
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Liberia
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Senegal
* Sierra Leone
* Togo

Americas|

| Caribbean|

* Bahamas
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Haiti
* St. Vincent and the Grenadines
* Trinidad and Tobago

|

Central|

* Costa Rica
* Guatemala
* Nicaragua
* Panama

Northern|

* Canada
* Mexico
* United States

South|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Suriname
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

| Central|

* Afghanistan
* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Tajikistan
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan

|

East|

* China
* Japan
* Mongolia
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Taiwan

South|

* Bangladesh
* India
* Maldives
* Nepal
* Pakistan
* Sri Lanka

Southeast|

* Brunei
* Cambodia
* East Timor
* Indonesia
* Laos
* Myanmar
* Malaysia
* Philippines
* Singapore
* Thailand
* Vietnam

Western|

* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Georgia
* Abkhazia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Kurdistan Region
* Israel
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Oman
* Palestine
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Syria
* United Arab Emirates
* Yemen

Europe|

| Central|

* Czech Republic
* Hungary
* Poland
* Slovakia

|

Eastern|

* Belarus
* Bulgaria
* Moldova
* Romania
* Russia
* Ukraine

Northern|

* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Norway
* Sweden
* United Kingdom

Southern|

* Albania
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Croatia
* Greece
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Malta
* Montenegro
* North Macedonia
* Northern Cyprus
* Portugal
* San Marino
* Serbia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Vatican City

Western|

* Austria
* Belgium
* France
* Germany
* Luxembourg
* Netherlands
* Switzerland

Oceania|

| Australasia|

* Australia
* New Zealand

|

Melanesia|

* Solomon Islands

Polynesia|

* Samoa
* Tonga

Former states|

* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

Multilateral relations

| Current|

* International organizations
* Arab League
* European Union
* Accession negotiations
* NATO
* Organization of Turkic States
* United Nations

|

Historical|

* Central Treaty Organization
* First Balkan Pact
* Second Balkan Pact

Diplomacy

| Peace Agreements and Treaties|

* Treaty of Ankara
* Border with Iraq
* Treaty of Constantinople
* Border with Bulgaria
* Greece
* Treaty of Kars
* Border with Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Georgia
* Treaty of Lausanne
* Border with Syria
* Treaty of Zuhab
* Border with Iran
* Montreux Convention
* Turkish Straits
* ECHR
* European Court of Human Rights

|

International infrastructure|

* Oil
* Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline
* Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline
* Water
* Northern Cyprus pipeline
* Natural gas
* Blue Stream
* Tabriz–Ankara pipeline
* Trans-Anatolian pipeline
* TurkStream
* Rail transport
* Greece–Turkey
* Azerbaijan–Georgia–Turkey

Missions|

* Diplomatic missions of Turkey / in Turkey
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* Minister
* Diplomatic corps

* v
* t
* e

Foreign relations of the European Union

Bilateral relations

See also: Economic relationships with third countries

Africa|

* Algeria
* Cape Verde
* Egypt
* Libya
* Morocco
* South Africa
* Sudan
* Tunisia

Americas|

* Argentina
* trade
* Brazil
* Canada
* Cuba
* Greenland
* Mexico
* Peru
* United States
* Uruguay

Asia|

* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* China
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Nepal
* North Korea
* Pakistan
* Palestine†
* Philippines
* South Korea
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Europe|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Faroe Islands
* Georgia
* Accession negotiations
* Iceland
* Kosovo†
* Liechtenstein
* Moldova
* Accession negotiations
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* North Macedonia
* Northern Cyprus†
* Norway
* Russia
* San Marino
* Serbia
* Sovereign Military Order of Malta
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Accession negotiations
* Ukraine
* Accession negotiations
* United Kingdom
* Vatican City

Oceania|

* Australia
* Micronesia
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea

Former|

* Yugoslavia

General|

* Overseas territories of member states
* European microstates
* Largest trading partners
* Association Agreements
* Free trade agreements
* European Union Sanctions

* †= Disputed state, may not be recognised as an independent state by some or all European Union members.

Multilateral relations and initiatives

| Organisations|

* Arab League
* ASEAN
* Council of Europe
* ECHR
* G7
* ICC
* IOC
* Mercosur
* NATO
* UN

|

Initiatives|

* African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
* Asia–Europe Meeting
* CARIFORUM
* Customs Union
* Eastern Partnership
* Energy Community
* Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly
* European Common Aviation Area
* European Economic Area
* Euro-Mediterranean free trade area
* Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
* Euronest
* Economic Partnership Agreements
* EU CBRN Risk Mitigation CoE Initiative
* Neighbourhood Policy
* Northern Dimension
* Mediterranean Union
* Stabilisation and Association Process

Administration and policies

| Foreign and Security Policy|

* Global Strategy
* Neighbourhood Policy
* Enlargement
* Security and Defence Policy

|

Administration|

* Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department
* Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development
* External Action Service
* Foreign Affairs Council
* High Representative Josep Borrell
* Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee
* Foreign Policy Instruments Service
* Diplomatic missions of the EU (ambassadors) / to the EU
* Special Representatives

Funding|

* Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance
* Global Europe

* v
* t
* e

Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union

Leadership|

* High Representative
* Director General of the Military Staff/Director of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability
* Director of the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability
* Chairman of the Military Committee
* European Council
* Foreign Affairs Council

Structure|

| External Action Service|

* Command structure on the civilian/military strategic and operational levels (Military Planning and Conduct Capability within the Military Staff, Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability, Joint Support Coordination Cell)
* Intelligence and Situation Centre (Club de Berne)
* Crisis Management and Planning Directorate
* Security & Defence College

|

Agencies|

* Defence Agency
* Institute for Security Studies
* Satellite Centre

Council preparatory bodies|

* Committee of Permanent Representatives
* Political and Security Committee
* Politico-Military Group
* Military Committee
* Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management

European Commission bodies|

* Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space

Funding|

* Defence Fund

Policies|

* Security Strategy
* Everything but Arms
* Annual Review

Equipment|

* Galileo navigation system
* Secure Software-defined Radio (PESCO)

Decorations|

* Service medal
* Medal for Extraordinary Meritorious Service
* Monitor mission medal

Related|

* Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO)
* Headline Goal 2010
* Military Erasmus
* Military Mobility (PESCO)
* Intelligence School (PESCO)
* Kortenberg building
* NATO relations (Berlin Plus agreement, Joint Declaration)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template