Transit Trade Incentives: Türkiye’s Attempt to Become a Global Trading Hub

Article 7 shows Türkiye’s intention to capture a larger share of international trade flows.

Under the proposal, 95% of profits derived from goods purchased abroad and sold abroad without being brought into Türkiye, or from intermediary activities in foreign trade transactions, may be deducted from corporate income. For Istanbul Financial Centre participants, the deduction would reach 100%.

This is different from traditional export incentives.

The focus is not on physically bringing goods into Türkiye. The objective is to structure commercial organization, financial flows and invoicing through Türkiye.

This model may be especially relevant for:

• commodity trading,

• foreign trade intermediation,

• regional distribution structures,

• group trading centres,

• holding and headquarters models.

However, the requirement to transfer the relevant profit to Türkiye is critical. It shows that the incentive is designed not merely for offshore paper profits, but for real foreign currency inflows.