Overview
Products tested and certified in the United States in accordance with U.S. standards and regulations are likely to be retested and re-certified to Turkish requirements. Türkiye’s customs union agreement with the EU and efforts to adapt all EU regulations means that certain certification standards may differ from those of the U.S.
The CE Mark was established by the EU to ensure products circulating within Europe met certain health, safety, consumer, and environmental protection standards. Annexes to the various EU directives specify levels of risk and types of products that must be certified either by a notified body or by the manufacturer as conforming to the EU directives. The EU’s laws and regulations make it compulsory to comply with the directives when goods are sold in the EU territory and the European Economic Area (EEA). Companies must show evidence of product compliance by maintaining or presenting a technical file that includes product specifications, technical drawings, and standards applied per the appropriate directives and corresponding annexes. Regarding post-market compliance, the relevant authority in charge of product safety inspections depends on the type of product in question.
Both U.S. companies and GoT officials have acknowledged that products of EU origin bearing the CE Mark, regardless of point of origin, are not subject to inspection and therefore Turkish customs authorities sometimes unfairly single out U.S. products for additional inspection. U.S. products without the CE marking have, at times, been held at Customs after Turkish Standards Institution (TSE) inspections. Manufacturers have been required to demonstrate compliance with related standards. TSE has argued that this policy is necessary because Türkiye does not have an after-market monitoring system in place to ensure consumer protection.
Standards
TSE, founded in 1960, is the sole authorized body for standardization in Türkiye. TSE units are structured in a way that ensures financial and administrative independence.
TSE is an active member of the world standardization community, with full membership in the ISO, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC).
TSE provides standards aimed at enabling companies to provide goods and services in compliance with internationally recognized rules, laws, codes, and standards. As a notified body, TSE enables clients to gain access to the European and Gulf markets by ensuring their products meet all CE Mark requirements in accordance with EU regulations, and all G mark requirements in accordance with GSO regulations. Inspection and surveillance, testing, certification, calibration, CE marking, and standards services are among the services provided by TSE.
Testing, Inspection and Certification
Conformity assessments are designed to ensure consistency and compliance with EU harmonized legislation and ensure a product is accepted in the import market. Products must go through verified laboratory testing by an EU-approved notified body, or, in some cases, a manufacturer’s self-declaration, to meet Türkiye’s conformity standards requirements. Companies selling to the Turkish market must submit evidence of conformity to all relevant regulations (i.e. CE marking) either by providing a notarized conformity certificate from a notified body or a manufacturer-issued certificate of conformity.
TSE is the relevant authority charged with import inspections. Inspections on products that fall under certain communiques are carried out electronically through TAREKS. This electronic surveillance system enables instant information sharing related to inspection outcomes and tracks products/manufacturers that do not meet required safety thresholds.
For products falling outside of the scope of the EU directives and where the GoT has established a directive or standard, the current Turkish standard or directive would apply.
TSE issues a letter of conformity when a “declaration of conformity” is submitted prior to import, however, TSE retains the right to request product documentation and test product themselves to verify that the certificates and/or marks were issued in accordance with law.
Publication of Technical Regulations
The “Decree on the Regime of Technical Regulations and Standardization for Foreign Trade” (the Regime) prohibits discrimination among trading partners and ensures that imported products comply with health, safety, and environmental protection requirements. The Regime is routinely amended to harmonize with EU technical legislation.
TSE publishes all standards and directives in the Official Gazette daily. Official Gazette documents are available online.
Contact Information
Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and does not require registration unless the user wishes to receive customized e-mail alerts. Use it to browse notifications on past as well as new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal and plant health standards and regulations, find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, locate information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.
Notify U.S., operated and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2003 to distribute and provide access to notifications (and associated draft texts) made under the WTO TBT Agreement for US stakeholders, has reached its end of life. Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates a national TBT (and an SPS) Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat. All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/guidance/guidance.cfm for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in the preparation and submission of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
Turkish Standards Institution (Turk Standartlari Enstitusu)
Necatibey Caddesi 112
06100 Bakanliklar
Ankara, Türkiye
Tel: +90-312-416-6200
Fax: +90-312-416-6611
https://en.tse.org.tr
Ministry of Trade
Sogutozu Mh. 2176. Sk. No:63
06530 Cankaya
Ankara, Türkiye
Phone: +90-312-204-7500
Call Center: +90-312-444-8482
https://www.trade.gov.tr