PRODUCT SAFETY PARADOX ON THE GREEN LINE

Mehmet Altay YEGİN
International Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Association
Chairman of the Board

The Product Safety and Inspection Notifications, prepared annually by the Ministry of Trade and published in the special edition of the Official Gazette dated December 31, establish the procedures and methods to be followed for product safety inspections conducted during the importation of numerous product groups into the country in a safe and legally compliant manner.

All mandated product safety inspections cover various product groups, and these inspections must be conducted on a risk-based basis through TAREKS (Risk-Based Control System in Foreign Trade).

However, the fact that all importers are grouped into the same risk pool for inspection is considered the system’s most significant drawback. In reality, there is already a group of importing businesses whose reliability has been certified by the government: holders of Authorized Economic Operator status.

As is well known, in accordance with the provisions of Article 21/A of the Customs Regulation, AEO status is demonstrated by an international certificate of reliability issued to companies established in Türkiye, certifying that they meet the requirements for financial adequacy, safety and security, traceability of records, compliance with customs legislation, and AEO safety and security conditions. For a company to obtain AEO status, it must undergo a detailed on-site audit process that can take several years.

Currently, more than 800 AEO-certified companies in Türkiye account for over 35% of our foreign trade volume. These companies also hold international certifications such as ISO 9001, 27001, and 28000.

The Ministry of Trade has confirmed that, particularly as of November 2023, privileges regarding the AOC are granted in TAREKS. The Ministry’s presentations explicitly state: “Preferential Treatment for AEO-Certified Companies: Companies holding an Authorized Economic Operator Certificate receive more favorable treatment through the TAREKS risk analysis process compared to companies without such a certificate.”

Similarly, internal directives state: “For applications submitted through the TAREKS system, if a company holds an AEO, it is granted preferential treatment in risk analysis compared to companies that do not hold such a certificate.”

However, this privilege remains at the level of an internal directive from the General Directorate or a TAREKS algorithm parameter; it is not included as a transparent, binding, and predictable provision in the public notice itself, as published in the Official Gazette. This situation both undermines legal predictability and places undue emphasis on the discretion of officials in its application.

 When we examine international practices regarding this issue:

3. a) World Customs Organization SAFE Framework: Article 3.3 states, “Customs administrations should apply the lowest possible risk level to AEO status holders and reduce their inspections.” It should also be noted that Türkiye is a member of the WCO.

1. b) European Union Customs Code: According to Article 38(6) of the EU Customs Code, holders of AEO-C and AEO-S status are subject to fewer physical and documentary inspections. In the EU’s “ICS2” and “Market Surveillance” systems, the risk factor applied to AEOs is 70% lower.

1. c) U.S. C-TPAT Program: While the CBP audit rate for C-TPAT member importers is 3-4%, it stands at 20–25% for other companies.

In this regard, it is believed that, in Türkiye as well, in light of the WCO SAFE Framework and EU-AEO practices, the need to reduce the frequency of inspections for AEOs, lower their risk scores, and transition to the trusted importer model should be highlighted.

The core promise of the AEO is speed and predictability. However, even when AEO-certified companies receive an “Excluded from Scope” decision in TAREKS for the same product, they are still required to complete the same procedure, resulting in significant financial and time losses.

In TAREKS, risk analysis is product- and country-focused, not company-history- or status-focused. Yet, an AEO company that has had no violations for 10 years and undergoes regular audits is assessed with the same risk score as a company importing for the first time. It is believed that this also contradicts the spirit of the new AI-powered TAREKS.

Furthermore, when the effort required for inspections is directed toward the safest companies, the truly risky firms—those engaged in unregistered and underground imports—may slip through the cracks. This situation not only creates unfair competition but also poses a threat to the intended “consumer safety.”

As we noted at the outset, Authorized Economic Operator status is a “certificate of reliability” granted by the government to the private sector. The fact that this certificate has no counterpart in the Product Safety Regulations highlights the system’s internal contradictions. For this reason, I would like to emphasize that during the preparation of the regulations to be implemented in 2027, this contradiction must be resolved; the approaching deadline presents a significant opportunity, and the General Directorate of Product Safety and Inspection at the Ministry of Trade has the opportunity to create a system that both to achieve full compliance with the WCO SAFE Framework standards and to establish a system that rewards trustworthy companies while weeding out those acting in bad faith.

To reiterate, the Product Safety and Inspection Notifications are published in the Official Gazette every year on December 31. It is recommended that the 2027 notifications define clear, predictable, and measurable privileges for companies holding Authorized Economic Operator status. Although the General Directorate of Product Safety and Inspection has confirmed that AEO-holding companies currently enjoy a partial advantage in the TAREKS risk analysis, this advantage has no normative basis in the text of the regulations.

Our proposal is a reward system, not a penalty system. Fewer inspections for reliable entities, more inspections for high-risk ones. This principle forms the basis of modern customs management, which is widely accepted worldwide.

In summary, it is deemed appropriate to differentiate the application for companies holding a AEO and to adopt a declaration-based method using “reference number management” when preparing the 2027 Product Safety Regulations.