Hüseyin Cahit Soysal, Member of the Board of Directors of ÜNSPED Customs Consultancy,

“TRUSTING THE EXPORTER BUT NOT TRUSTING THE SHIPPER MUST BE AVOIDED”

“IF WE WANT TO MAKE 500 BILLION DOLLARS IN EXPORTS, WE HAVE TO BE PEACE WITH THE WHOLE WORLD”

Nuray Pekcan, Editor-in-Chief of My Truck Magazine, talks with Hüseyin Cahit Soysal, Member of the Board of Directors of ÜNSPED Customs Consultancy, about YYS, which is stated to be shaped within the framework of safety and security standards and facilitate trade. Soysal also evaluates the problems experienced by the logistics industry, which is one of the dynamics of exports.

Stating that road transporters have much more problems than sea and air transport, Soysal states that road transporters have problems at the customs of each country they pass through, compared to other modes of transport. Soysal said that; “The carrier declarations of the highway in 2001 were simpler, less information was required. But in 2001 there were the Twin Tower attacks and the Pentagon attacks. Then a great panic started and it was concluded that there were two reasons for this event. The first is freedom of travel, and the second is excessive facilitation of the transportation of goods. They said, "Let's eliminate the convenience of freedom of travel," collective country regulations such as chip passports, Schengen Visa, and international information sharing measures were taken. Another issue was the traffic of goods. For example, if a ship comes to New York Harbor from the Far East and declares various electronic goods in the summary declaration or the shipping note, maybe these 3 screws can be tightened and an atomic bomb may be formed. Thereupon, it was agreed that the summary statement should be submitted before the vehicles arrive in the country. We had the chance to analyze before the vehicle arrived.”

“Turkey Made the YYS Regulation for the First Time in 2014”

Soysal states that one of the reasons for the start of the 2002 crisis was the excessive increase in controls and the fact that the containers began to wait at the ports, and that there were serious disruptions in the supply chains. Soysal continued his words as follows: “This is one of the factors that triggered the economic crisis, not just Mortgage Loans. That's why they said, 'Okay, let's do our checks again, take our security measures, but there is also a reliable trader.' In order not to hinder the trade of reliable traders, they have been authorized with the so-called Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) or 'Authorized Economic Operator Certificate' when we translate it into Turkish. Published in 2013 but not implemented. Turkey made a regulation on this issue for the first time in 2014.”

“If we want to export 500 billion dollars, we need to be at peace with the whole world”

Stating that the operation is not as easy as it used to be for the transporter, Soysal states that it is obligatory to submit a summary declaration to the customs, but it must be submitted before the vehicle arrives. Soysal said that; “A convenience has been introduced for trucks in the form of submitting the declaration one hour after their arrival. This is 4 hours ago on airplanes, during loading on board... This is an additional bureaucracy brought to international goods traffic on a global scale. In other words, it is not unique to Turkey. In addition to this, Turkey has a special position. Our main market is mostly Europe, 65 percent of our exports are made there. On the way to Europe, it is very often the case that they are kept at the border gates and subject to checks, and not only checks are goods or customs checks. There are many sanctions such as road pass documents, vehicle driving hours. If we want to export 500 billion dollars, we need to be at peace with the whole world. Otherwise, we have no other chance to trade.”

“There are Four Statutes at the Essence of the European Union Regulation”

Pointing out that there are four statuses in the essence of the European Union regulation: on-site customs clearance in exports, on-site customs clearance in imports, authorized sender and authorized consignee, Soysal states: There are two meanings called safety and security, which we translate into our own legislation. The difference between the two is that security gives the authority to take and investigate security measures such as bombs, drugs, immigrants. Precautions for products that are more harmful to human health in Safety. The 'Authorized Economic Operator Status' states that safety and security rules must be followed first. In other words, states want those who have authority to be structured according to protection measures against external dangers. For this, it certifies with that document. The second is trade facilitation, that is, the speed of the supply chain ranks second in these documents.”

“Only 29 Companies Received the Authorized Economic Operator Certificate”

Stating that with the announcement that the YYS (Authorized Operator Certificate) regulation will be introduced, many people from the industry wanted to receive the document, but only 29 companies received the document with the recognition of the authorized sender right, Soysal said: “There was no great demand from the industry. The reason is this: many things are required, the secure physical space will be monitored with cameras, lighting, computer systems will be installed, you will make an investment that requires many additional costs, including ISO 9000 and ISO 27001. So what will you get in return? You will not physically bring your goods to the customs area during export and your goods will not be physically examined.”

“Not a Document to be Chased for the Transporter”

Mentioning that there are four lines in the customs information system, namely red, yellow, green and blue, Soysal states that the goods destined for these lines are processed accordingly and continues his words as follows: is coming. The yellow line only checks documents, it also means an instruction not to do a physical examination. There is neither document control nor physical control on the green line. On the blue line, transactions are handled by document control first. The exporter who does not show any risk in the export declaration on the yellow line passes without a physical examination. Now let's say I'm a truck driver, I loaded the truck as a complete load. You say, 'Come physically to Erenköy Customs.' You trust the exporter, why don't you trust me? I am doing this transport business for a freight charge. You first say that you respect the exporter, when you load it on the truck, you say, 'Come here and see'. X-Ray systems are installed at all border gates. The truck is coming to the border gate again. Why are you trying to force them into a certain place in the city in Istanbul? If there is an item headed for the yellow line, the truck will no longer be summoned. In other words, the carrier did not give much credit to the 'Authorized Economic Operator Certificate'. Before the last changes, the biggest advantage for our transporters was to pass without waiting in line at Kapıkule. It was removed when other medium and small businesses said, “Large businesses are leaving, we are waiting here for 80, 90 hours.” So if you ask me, it is not a document to be followed for the transporter.”

 “The Transporter Is Tortured”

Stating that while export targets are increasing on the one hand, there are obstacles to exports on the other hand, Soysal said: “After leaving Kapıkule, the transporter enters a field battle. They will deal with Bulgarians and Serbians, they will be forced into the train in Austria, they will be pushed around in Germany or they will be told, 'You will not go this way, you will not have to go this way, you will get on the RO-RO in the Caspian Sea'… Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan are always the problem… So your biggest friend is Azerbaijan. even cause difficulties. There is no such problem on the plane, not so much on the train. However, on the road, the transporter is really tortured. If the administration uses its authority, it will take care of it. You will not leave the job to the initiative of the officer. The officer went to eat hungry, there is no such thing. There you do two shifts, three shifts and you get the job done. The approach needs to be different. Not only by raising the working performance of those there, but also by reducing the bureaucracy as a process. Why do you want lead and seal for a product of Turkish origin? Why are you pulling over a yellow or blue line and a fallen goods truck? The understanding of trusting the exporter and not trusting the transporter should be abandoned.”

“Global Gateway Project Puts Africa at the Center and Provides Opening”

Referring to the Global Gateway project, Soysal stated that they published this project in the official newspapers of Europeans on December 1 and shares the following details: “When you become a large-scale manufacturer, they have to create channels that will sell your goods to you. China did this in the first place. China took itself to the center and opened channels. He built his own network, but put himself first. In other words, when needed, he collected empty containers from there and sent goods to America. Thus, there was a shortage of containers and freight costs increased. You can build a ship carrying 20,000 containers like South Korea did, but it gets stuck in the Suez Canal. The canal was locked for 20 days, hundreds of ships could not pass, and the supply chain was broken. An understanding developed in Europe for two reasons. First: why should I bring it from far away? Second: these vehicles already burn the world's diesel fuel from here to here, why should I cause more carbon emissions? Therefore, they have plans to establish a supply chain in close proximity to North Africa, Turkey, and Ukraine. This Global Gateway, or Global Transition Project, puts Africa in the center and provides an opening. But this expansion is not just a highway. The understanding of laying railways, fiber optic cables, developing the technological infrastructure of those countries… That is, I will establish my own network.”

“Derekoy can be used very comfortably in transportation to Russia, Moldova, Ukraine”

Expressing his evaluations on how the Global Gateway project will reflect on Turkey, Soysal said: "When the project is completed, it will reflect on Turkey from a Black Sea direction, and additional border gates may be opened. This is also very useful. A third is the manpower trained for their construction… Turkey has this. No matter how much you load, you cannot raise a border gate above a certain capacity. If we do not count Derekoy in the north, why do we have two doors to Bulgaria? In fact, Derekoy is not used as mountainous, it used to be open to truck traffic in the 70s. I think they can open that door first, because Derekoy can be used very easily, especially for Russia, Moldova and Ukraine transportation. The Turkish side is very beautiful, the road has widened on the opposite side. When it is very profitable, you have customers, two months less. We need to open the fourth maybe fifth door, but do we intend to do this first? Aren't we? As a state, we will reveal this with our own legal regulations.”

"Turkey Has Only Signed the Mutual Recognition Agreement with South Korea in YYS"

Adding that the only way for the effective use of documents in the YYS is for the countries to mutually recognize each other, Soysal finally said: “You are making a mutual recognition agreement. respects. This may be a convenience. However, Turkey has only signed the mutual recognition agreement with South Korea in YYS so far.”