UPDATE WITH REMARKS FROM THE MINISTER, MORE DETAILS
By Tuba Sahin and Gokhan Ergocun
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's Industry and Technology Ministry on Friday announced a 16-point support package for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), entrepreneurs, and industrialists.
The package abides by tight fiscal policies and will not cause monetary expansion, the ministry said in a statement.
“We are accelerating our moves for indigenous technology and localization in order to protect our technology entrepreneurs and industrialists from economic attacks on Turkey, ” said Mustafa Varank, the industry and technology minister.
Varank said the package will not impose any additional burden on Turkey's budget.
Analyzing over 2,700 product lines made up of Turkey's imports of intermediate goods, the ministry started a localization program for priority product lines equal to imports with a minimum value of $30 billion.
The package includes various measures such as price advantages for local products, averting unfair competition, improving the real sector's innovation and competition capabilities, updating the FX differences of R&D support, export incentives for SMEs, and encouraging patent, trademark, and design work.
It also aims to energize domestic potential by providing 500 million liras ($80 million) for 500 projects.
Focusing on technology development zones, the ministry will extend 100 million liras ($16 million) to them by the end of 2018.
