The World Economy and Our Production Life

The world economy is going through historic days with multiple shock waves coming one after the other. First of all, Donald Trump, who has disrupted not only the US but also some of the norms in the world with every decree he has implemented since January 20th, when he took office as President in the US, is the main actor of the shock waves...

The decisions clearly show that the Trump administration has unusual orientations on critical issues such as the global trade system, the US manufacturing industry, the global value of the dollar and its position as a reserve currency. Where these new policies, which are in line with the famous slogans 'Make America Great Again' and 'America first', will lead us is a mystery.

As a matter of fact, the tariff wars they have signaled so far have already started in March. The US imposed additional tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico, while also imposing duties on steel and aluminum imports from around the world. With retaliation from these countries, the risk of the situation evolving into a multilateral global trade war is increasing. In this picture, China emerges as a second potential shock. If China's billions of dollars’ worth of exports to the US are jeopardized, the excess supply that will arise will cause the economies of the whole world, especially developing countries, to brood.

We wake up to a new shock every day. Another critical aspect of these developments in the world for Türkiye is what is happening in the European Union. For some time, the European Union has been facing two very important problems: slowing growth and falling behind in the technology war. Now these problems are being compounded by tensions with the new US administration over the future of NATO and defense industry policies. The outcome of this tension between the two main representatives of the Western alliance is of critical importance as Europe is our main export market. As an open economy, it is inevitable that Türkiye will be affected by these hot developments in the world in this extremely volatile sea. In such a complex environment, the question of what risks and opportunities will emerge in the near future for our industry, especially for our entire economy, is becoming an increasingly urgent question, even if it is not easy to answer.

These important developments were discussed at our March ICI Assembly meeting. On March 26, I was unable to attend our Assembly meeting due to the “2030 Industry and Technology Strategy and Large Scale Industrial Investments Promotion Program” that took place at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on the same day. The meeting was titled “Assessments on the Competitiveness of Our Industry within the Framework of Economic Growth and Export Data” and held by the valuable contributions of our Assembly Members. The speech on the agenda was delivered by Mr. İrfan Özhamaratlı, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ICI. You can read the details of the speech, together with the valuable opinions of the members of the ICI Assembly, on the following pages of our magazine.

Leaving behind holy Ramadan, the month of peace and abundance, we spent the Eid al-Fitr, which is an occasion for strengthening friendships, feelings of brotherhood and solidarity, with our loved ones and friends. Using this opportunity, I sincerely wish you all a happy Eid al-Fitr and a healthy and peaceful month.

Istanbul Chamber of Industry 
Chairman of the Board of Directors