weighted score 3.9 · nine dimensions
Country Risk Profile
Turkey
Sourcing risk, regulatory exposure and audit intelligence for Turkey-origin supply chains.
Forced & child labour
4
Syrian refugee child labour documented in textiles and agriculture. ILAB lists cotton and garments. Informal economy creates visibility gaps for forced labour indicators.
Worker rights & FOA
4
ITUC 5 rating — no guarantee of rights. ILO C087 and C098 ratified but poorly enforced. Trade union suppression documented. Post-2016 emergency measures curtailed organising.
OHS & audit transparency
4
Soma mine disaster (2014, 301 deaths) exposed systemic OHS enforcement failures. Mining and construction sectors remain high-risk. Audit access generally available but informal sub-contracting limits coverage.
Food & product safety
3
RASFF notifications for Turkish-origin food products are moderate. Aflatoxin contamination in dried fruits and nuts is a recurring issue. Industrial product safety aligned with EU standards under Customs Union.
Environmental & regulatory
4
Paris Agreement ratified 2021. Renewable energy growing but coal significant. Environmental enforcement capacity limited outside major industrial zones.
Governance & anti-corruption
7
TI CPI 34/100. Significant decline in governance indicators. Judicial independence concerns. Post-2016 institutional restructuring weakened checks and balances.
Tariff & preferential access
2
EU Customs Union provides duty-free access for industrial goods. Significant trade preference advantage over non-preferential competitors.
Non-tariff barriers
3
Technical standards alignment with EU for Customs Union products. Relatively low non-tariff barrier exposure for covered industrial goods.
Supply chain traceability
4
Textile supply chains involve significant informal sub-contracting. Refugee labour in lower tiers creates traceability gaps. Multi-tier visibility challenging in garment finishing.
Labour & Social Risk
Labour & Social Risk
- ITUC Global Rights Index
- Turkey is rated ITUC 5 — 'no guarantee of rights'. Trade union suppression, arrests of union leaders, and restrictions on collective bargaining are documented. Post-2016 coup attempt emergency measures severely curtailed labour organising.
- Refugee worker exploitation
- Turkey hosts approximately 3.5 million Syrian refugees. Significant numbers work informally in textiles, agriculture, and construction — often below minimum wage, without contracts, and without access to social protection. Child labour among refugee populations is documented by ILO and UNICEF.
- Soma mine disaster
- The 2014 Soma mine disaster killed 301 miners — Turkey's worst industrial accident. Investigations revealed systematic safety failures, inadequate ventilation, and regulatory capture. The disaster highlighted structural OHS enforcement gaps in extractive and heavy industry sectors.
- ILO conventions
- Turkey has ratified ILO C087 (Freedom of Association) and C098 (Right to Organise) but enforcement is weak. ITUC reports document persistent violations including dismissals for union membership and restrictions on the right to strike.
Governance & Trade Access
Governance & Trade Access
- Corruption Perceptions Index
- TI CPI 2024: 34/100. Turkey has declined significantly on governance indicators over the past decade. Judicial independence concerns and post-2016 institutional restructuring have weakened anti-corruption frameworks.
- EU Customs Union
- The EU-Turkey Customs Union (1996) covers industrial goods with duty-free access. This is a Tariff score of 2 — preferential access without full EU membership. Agricultural products and services are excluded from the Customs Union.
- Regulatory alignment
- Turkey aligns with EU technical standards for industrial products covered by the Customs Union. However, EU accession negotiations have been frozen since 2018, and regulatory divergence is increasing in areas outside the Customs Union scope.
Supply Chain & Traceability
Supply Chain & Traceability
- Textile supply chains
- Turkey is a major textile and apparel exporter to the EU. Supply chains involve significant informal sub-contracting, particularly in garment finishing, where refugee labour exploitation risk is highest. Multi-tier traceability is challenging.
- Audit environment
- Social compliance audits (SMETA, BSCI) are conducted but effectiveness is limited by informal economy penetration. Unannounced audits face practical challenges. Audit fatigue is reported among larger export factories.