International Product Safety Symposium is Held

International Product Safety Symposium, organized by the Ministry of Commerce in order to raise awareness in the areas of product safety, market surveillance and conformity assessment for a better implementation of European Union technical legislation, was held in a hybrid way involving a virtual environment on May 17- 26, 2021.

At the event, the speakers made their presentations at a symposium area while the guests watched them online.

During the two-day symposium, the steps taken by Turkey regarding product safety have been discussed. Current issues like New Regulations on Product Safety were discussed by the relevant parties and international experts and involved Law No. 7223 on Product Safety and Technical Regulations Sub-Directives, Changes in EU Legislation, Market Surveillance of E-Commerce, Role of Consumer Organizations in Product Safety in the EU and in Turkey, Risk Assessment in Market Surveillance, Recent Developments in Accreditation, Medical Device Directive, European Green Deal and Eco Design and Energy Labelling.

In addition to commercial enterprises like manufacturers, the symposium was attended by exporters and distributers, public institutions, conformity assessment bodies and representatives of consumer associations.

A New Product Safety and Technical Arrangement Law was Prepared

Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu made the opening speech and said, “The product safety system established in Turkey is equivalent to the product safety system of the European Union, which determines the basic product safety principles and rules applied all over the world.”

Tuzcu stated that harmonization studies with European Union’s technical legislation made great contributions to Turkey to produce

high-quality, safe products on a global scale, and to the transformation of the industrial infrastructure. He also said, “We prepared a new product safety and technical arrangement law, within the scope of harmonization studies, which took effect in March. With this law, we also

prohibited the export of unsafe or adulterated products, in took effect in March. With this law, we also prohibited the export of unsafe or adulterated products, in order to protect the image of products Made in Turkey in foreign markets. Secondly, we included e-commerce within the scope of the law. In this way, we are able to impose sanctions to internet, radio or television companies that mediate the sale of inappropriate products.”

Turkish Industry is an Important Part of the EU Supply Chain

The Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut said, “Dynamic Turkish industry is an important part of the EU supply chain. Turkish companies carry out successful productions under the supervision of Turkish conformity assessment bodies and organizations recognized by the EU. Horizontal politics, accreditation standards and quality assurance are among the issues with which Turkey has made significant progress in terms of the EU.”