On February 20, 2023, the Board of Directors of the Turkish Chemical Manufacturers Association for the new term was determined to continue the task of the previous TKSD Board of Directors. In this general assembly, the importance of the chemical industry was once again emphasized.

Haluk Erceber, who is also the chairman of the board of directors for the 2020-2022 term and who is also on the board of the new term, continued his words by stating in his opening speech that our industry has entered a long and difficult process of approximately 4-5 years.

"On February 6, we experienced two earthquakes of very high intensity. 10 cities and 13.5 million citizens were affected, and there are at least 50,000 deaths. The region, which has a 9% gross national product (GNP) share and 13.5% export share, was almost completely destroyed. 71 billion USD in construction, 10.5 billion USD in material loss, 3 billion USD in workforce loss, a total loss of approximately 84 billion USD.Agricultural losses will be significant.

The Turkish Chemical industry has a very different and challenging process in front of it. In particular, the KKDIK legislation, which was harmonized EU REACH legislation in our country plus the changes in EU REACH legislation itself approaching and on the other hand, within the scope of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the declaration process will start in October 2023. Cement, Aluminum, Iron-Steel, Hydrogen, Fertilizer (ammonia) are the sectors that will be declared in the first phase and will have to pay carbon tax in EU exports as of 2026. It is thought that 2026 will be brought forward to 2025. Also, polymers, organic chemicals, etc. Although the inclusion of some chemicals was stopped with the opposition of the European Chemical Industry Council, Cefic, the scope will be expanded again in 2026.”