TURKEY: DRAFT LEGISLATION SHOULD STRENGTHEN GOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000950 SIPDIS SENSITIVE EUR/SE FOR MALIK, EUR/PRA FOR FRIEDT AND SILKWORTH, ISN/CPI FOR RUSSELL, ISN/NESS FOR STRATFORD, ISN/ECC FOR WONG AND GOLDEN, DOE/ISNECP FOR PARKER E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2018 TAGS: ETTC PARM PGOV TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: DRAFT LEGISLATION SHOULD STRENGTHEN GOT EXPORT CONTROL REGIME Classified By: Political-Military Affairs Counselor Carl Siebentritt, r easons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Underseretariat of Foreign Trade (UFT),in coordination with all other GOT entities with export control responsibilities, has submitted to the Prime Ministry draft export control legislation as part of an effort to meet EU standards, close loop holes, and rationalize Turkey's disparate export control regime. The legislation aims to establish a uniform export control list and an interagency Export Control Board (ECB) to more effectively coordinate GOT implementation of its export control policy. The draft legislation is currently under review at the Prime Ministry and may be adopted in early ¶2009. Based on the information presented to us by UFT and the MFA, we believe this draft legislation, if adopted, will strengthen Turkey's export control regime and will provide the GOT with the flexibility to respond more quickly to cases of concern. End Summary. Background -------------- ¶2. (U) Turkey has been implementing export controls over Dual Use and sensitive items since the establishment of the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom) and was one of the founding members of the Wassenaar Arrangement, the successor regime to CoCom, in 1996. Since then, Turkey has become party to Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group, Nuclear Suppliers, Group, Zangger Committee and Chemical Weapons Convention. ¶3. (U) In accordance with its commitments under these agreements and arrangements, Turkey has established and implemented a comprehensive export control system. The system is based on three licensing institutions, the Ministry of National Defense for military and military dual use items; the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade for general dual use items and the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority for nuclear and nuclear dual use items. New Legislation -------------- ¶4. (SBU) New draft legislation, under consideration by the Prime Minister's office, foresees the formation of a consolidated national control list, which will use the EU Control List as its model. The new Export Control List will bring together the existing control lists currently used by the three different licensing authorities. It will also create an Export Control Board (ECB) that will coordinate interagency implementation of Turkey's export control regime. The ECB will include representatives from the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Undersecretariat of Customs, the Undersecretariat of National Intelligence, the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade and the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK). The ECB will hold meetings every fifteen days and will convene for extraordinary sessions upon the request of any representative. ¶5. (SBU) The ECB will be tasked with developing consistent export control procedures employed by the licensing authorities and serve as a forum for interagency discussions on export control policies. The board is also designed to function as an advisory body for the licensing institutions upon their request. The ECB will be able to call on the inspection capabilities of the relevant institutions in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of the draft law. It will assume responsibility for implementation of "catch-all controls" and will have the authority to review general export licenses and the licensing of institutions to grant global export licenses, in addition to individual export licenses. ¶6. (U) The ECB will be authorized to impose administrative penalties for violations of Export Control Laws to include fines and exclusion from export activities. Firms could also be fined and/or have their export licenses revoked if they become repeat offenders of export control laws, or if they provide incorrect or incomplete information, or provide false end-use guarantees. Finally, the ECB will be tasked to carry out industry outreach to improve awareness among Turkish exporters of Turkey's export control regime and requirements. Free Zones to Be Covered in Export Control Legislation -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) In addition to combining Export Control lists and the establishment of the ECB, the proposed legislation ends the exclusion of free zones and transit trade from the scope of export control laws. The draft legislation stipulates that the rules and procedures governing free zones and transit trade shall be regulated by a supplemental piece of legislation (which has also been presented to the Prime Ministry). The ECB will have the authority to grant free zone and transit trade licenses in accordance with the supplemental legislation. The proposed legislation also resolves the conflicts of jurisdiction among three licensing institutions and standardizes the licensing process for all institutions. ¶8. (SBU) The draft was submitted to the Office of Prime Ministry for evaluation in April. If the Prime Ministry agrees with the final text (our contacts believe it will),it will convey the draft to parliament for adoption this summer. Once adopted by the parliament, the legislation will enter into force six months after the publication date in the Official Gazette. This provides a grace period for the institutions and exporters to adjust to the new system's requirements. ¶9. (C) The MFA enthusiastically supports the new draft legislation and believes it will help strengthen Turkey's export control regime. MFA Deputy Director General for Nonproliferation and Disarmament Ahmet Gun told us that the draft legislation codifies what he has been advocating: a consistent and coordinated interagency approach to export controls. Gun underscored that the establishment of the ECB will position the Turkish bureaucracy to be better able to respond to urgent cases of proliferation concern. With a clear legislative mandate, the ECB will be able to convene on short notice and take quick action in response to timely, accurate, and actionable intelligence. Comment: A Positive Step -------------- ¶10. (SBU) With Turkey continuing to harmonize Turkish laws and regulations to conform with EU standards, this legislation, once enacted, should resolve many of the cumbersome bureaucratic steps that currently hamper both the timely processing of export control licenses and permit reachback capabilities for licensing and enforcement officers in the field. The creation of the ECB will enhance GOT's ability to monitor and control the movement of dual-use and other sensitive items that are exported from or transit through Turkey's extensive air, land and maritime ports of entry and border gates. Just as important, the ECB would provide a bureaucratic mechanism that could respond to urgent requests to prevent shipments of concern. Time will tell how well the law and the ECB will function in practice, but the draft legislation appears to be a move in the right direction. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON