According to the announcement from the Jewelry Exporters' Association (JEA), Burak Yakın, the President of JEA and a member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TİM), along with leaders of the jewelry sector, met with Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance Osman Çelik and the President of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT), Hafize Gaye Erkan, in Ankara.
Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance Çelik and CBRT President Erkan listened to the issues raised by representatives of the sector during the meeting.
In his remarks mentioned in the announcement, Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance Osman Çelik stated that they started by establishing macro balances as the government and carefully monitored the side effects of the measures on the real sector. They aim to improve the competitive strength of relevant sectors in terms of their exports by taking necessary measures.
CBRT President Hafize Gaye Erkan said, "We continue to implement the roadmap we shared with the public during our Inflation Report meeting to create a sustainable ground for the start of disinflation in 2024, with gradual and determined steps."
The statements in the CBRT Policy Committee (PPK) decision texts had indicated gradual and determined monetary tightening messages.
After Hafize Gaye Erkan's appointment as the CBRT President, the PPK increased the policy rate, which is the one-week repo auction interest rate, from 8.5% to 25% in three meetings. The PPK decision texts contained messages of gradual and determined monetary tightening, and President Erkan had stated in the Inflation Report Briefing Meeting on July 27, "We initiated a strong monetary tightening process in June. We emphasized that this process will be gradual, balanced, and stable."
In the decisions dated July 20, 2023, and August 24, 2023, the PPK stated that the gradual simplification process that will strengthen macro-financial stability and enhance the functionality of market mechanisms will continue and selective credit and quantitative tightening decisions supporting the monetary tightening process were taken.
According to the JEA announcement, during the meeting, developments closely related to more than 250,000 jewelers were discussed. Particularly, the current situation arising from the practice of not imposing additional taxes on finished product imports from countries with which Türkiye has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and countries with STA agreements (Special Trade Agreement) within the European Union, except for gold imports with a quota, was addressed.
The meeting was attended by MIB President Burak Yakın, along with MIB Board Members Murad Köşker and Hüseyin Şaşmaz, Mustafa Atayık, President of Istanbul Jewelers Chamber, Fatih Kemahlı, Chairman of the ISO Jewelry Committee, Münir Üçkardeş, ISO Assembly Member, Ercan Özboyacı, Chairman of the ISO Jewelry Committee, Abdullah Tütüncü, Chairman of the Board of Nadir Metal Refinery, Hasan Basri Abdik from Boğaziçi Jewelers, and Uğur Uras from Uğur Uras, representing brokerage firms at the Stock Exchange.
During the meeting, representatives of the jewelry sector explained how the decisions affected them, while MIB President Burak Yakın presented the current situation with a prepared presentation.
The presentation highlighted that the jewelry sector has made significant progress over the past 20 years, competing with global leaders and doubling its market share despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It was noted that jewelers face a 68-point disadvantage compared to their Italian competitors when buying gold to produce jewelry.
The recent significant increases in gold imports in Türkiye and their impact on the current account deficit were highlighted in the meeting, and it was pointed out that macroprudential measures were taken to strengthen financial stability during the transition process. It was also emphasized that support will continue for producer sectors such as jewelry exporters.
