The Embassy promotes Swiss-Turkish economic and commercial relations. It represents the demands of the Swiss Economy to the Turkish authorities and keeps the official or interested parties in Switzerland informed about the developments in Turkey. In the field of trade promotion it co-operates with OSEC, the Business Network Switzerland and the Swiss-Turkish Chamber of Commerce in Istanbul and Ankara. The Embassy informs the interested parties about:

• the economic situation of Turkey
• general tax and customs questions
• fairs and exhibitions in Turkey
• Swiss companies in Turkey and their activities
• potential Turkish business partners
• visits of Swiss Business persons to Turkey

The Embassy promotes Switzerland as a business location by informing appropriate Turkish partners about the economic, political and cultural conditions in Switzerland.

With its surface area of 41'300 km2, two thirds covered with mountains, Switzerland is a small country compared to Turkey (814'578 km2). It is divided into 26 cantons and 3'000 communes. Its 7 million inhabitants (Turkey: 68 million), with a per capita gross domestic product of $36'000 (Turkey: USD 2'886, as of 2000) Switzerland enjoys a prosperity which is virtually unrivalled worldwide. The Swiss economy is very reliant on foreign trade and services due to its small domestic market and virtually no mineral resources. Chemicals and pharmaceuticals; machines and electronics; instruments, watches, jewellery are the major export products of the country beside its banking and insurance know-how.

The Swiss economy mainly depends on highly qualified work and well-trained work force rather than on mass production. Many businesses follow a niche strategy, concentrating on a small range of high quality products. Beside the well-known international companies like ABB, Novartis, Nestle, Roche, UBS etc., the backbone of the Swiss industry is made up of highly specialised small and medium sized enterprises.

Switzerland is a leading country in the area of scientific research. A higher percentage of employees work in research and development than in other industrial countries. 2.75 % of the gross national product was spent on research (Source: IMD The Word Competitiveness Yearbook 2000, Tab.7.03).

Until the 19th century famines were not unusual in Switzerland. Therefore, many Swiss emigrated, trying their future in wealthier countries. It is only since World War I that Switzerland has gradually developed into one of the richest countries in the world. The basis of this prosperity, however, goes back to the last decades of the 19th century, when manufacturing and service companies were established. In some cases, they are still operating today world-wide.

The legal framework of our economic relations are the following arrangements:

• Trade Agreement (entered into force on 13.10.1930)
• Agreement on the Organisation of Commercial Exchange and Payments (entered into force on 28.03.1942)
• Agreement on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investment (entered into force on 03.03.1988)
• Free Trade Agreement EFTA-TURKEY (entered into force on 10.12.1991)
• Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income and Property (under negotiation)
• Memorandum of Understanding of Joint Economic Commission (KEK) (signed on 06.02.2001)
• Memorandum of Understanding on High Level Commercial and Economical Consultation Between the Government of Republic of Turkey and the Government of Swiss Confederation (signed on 28.01.2002)

The traditional trade balance between the two countries is a surplus in favour of Switzerland. While the exports of Turkey follow an up and down trend, there is a constant increase in the import figures of Turkey from Switzerland. The total trade volume between the two countries is $3'305 million as of 2003. Switzerland occupies the 7th rank in the importer list of Turkey, whereas Switzerland holds only 26rd rank in the export list of Turkey. Chemicals, pharmaceuticals and machines are the top export products of Switzerland to Turkey. Textiles and agricultural goods are among the most important export items of Turkey to Switzerland.

To improve the trade balance between the two countries, the Turkish community in Switzerland, having around 80'000 Turkish citizens, would play an important role.

Due to the new technical regulations for imports of certain goods (machines, medical devices, toys, electrical equipment, kitchenware) published by the Turkish Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade (DTM) in the first quarter of 2004, some Swiss export products have been blocked at the Turkish customs. According to these regulations, goods manufactured in the EU can freely pass the Turkish borders if a declaration of conformity of the manufacturer states that the good complies to applicable law of the EU and if the product to be imported carries the CE mark. For like products manufactured outside the EU, a manufacturer’s declaration of conformity to EU law and a CE mark do not guarantee access to the Turkish market. For these products, additional conformity assessment procedures (e.g. tests and inspections) and confirmations by the Turkish Standardisation Institute (TSE) and certain ministries (e.g. health, industry and trade, agriculture) are required. Additional information under the name of technical file such as the whole technical documentation and spare parts must be delivered.

In the last EFTA meeting which was held on July 1st , 2004, Turkish authorities agreed on to follow the current problems case by case until to take adequate and satisfying measures as a whole. The Seco has prepared a form for tracking purpose. Please also note that this form should be used only if you have a problem in the field of conformity assessment (testing, inspection, certification) and/or the application of the CE mark. It is important that only current problems are reported. Problems occurred before July 2004 shall not be mentioned.

The approved Swiss direct investments in Turkey has reached to $2'250 million as of mid 2003. This puts Switzerland on the sixth rank of foreign investment in Turkey. However, though there is no specific figure for realised investments, it is known that the realised volume is quite inferior. There are 234 companies with Swiss capital operating in Turkey (mid 2003). The share of these companies among the total foreign investment is 7.12% (Source: Undersecretariat for Treasury). The joint investment of Swiss companies mainly concentrated in chemical industry, pharmaceuticals and various manufacturing areas. In return, 31 Turkish companies are operating in Switzerland. The total capital of these companies is around $ 75 million ( Source: Foreign Economic Relations Board-DEIK report, June 2002).