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Türkiye restricts footwear imports via postal and express channels over safety concerns

Oct 28, 2025 Turkey

The Turkish Ministry of Trade has introduced new restrictions on the import of several products, including footwear, via postal and express delivery services due to safety concerns

The measure, which was announced on the 20^th of October 2025 through General Circular No. 2025/11, targets products entering under simplified customs declarations. This regime is commonly used for small e-commerce shipments. Footwear was identified as one of the top three high-risk product categories, alongside toys and leather goods.

This decision follows safety testing, which revealed that 81% of the 182 analysed items failed to meet national standards due to excessive levels of hazardous substances such as phthalates, lead, cadmium and PAHs.

Going forward, these products will no longer be permitted to enter the country via online orders or express couriers (e.g. DHL, UPS, FedEx) without full customs clearance. The aim is to tighten oversight of low-value shipments, which often escape rigorous inspection.

The restriction does not amount to a complete ban on imports. For example, footwear can still enter Türkiye via standard commercial channels, provided it complies with existing safety regulations and undergoes full customs procedures, particularly those enforced under the TAREKS conformity assessment system. Products that fail to meet these standards may be detained, returned, or subjected to further scrutiny.

The Footwear Industrialists Association of Türkiye has welcomed the announcement, having previously drawn the government’s attention to this matter.

“These products not only created significant unfair competition for our companies but also posed serious risks to consumer health. In the tests conducted by TASD, we found that more than half of these products contained carcinogenic substances such as phthalates, lead, nickel, and cadmium at levels at least 7–8 times higher than the permissible limits”, emphasised Berke Içten, the President of the association.

He concluded: “This decision marks an important step both in preventing unfair competition in the sector and in protecting consumer health”.

Details

Although the circular does not list specific customs codes, it explicitly refers to footwear and leather goods, suggesting that it has a broad application and includes products such as leather shoes, boots and accessories. However, it is unclear whether smaller leather items such as belts or wallets are covered.

The measure also applies to imports from the European Union, despite the EU-Turkey Customs Union eliminating tariffs and quotas on industrial goods. While this agreement facilitates trade, Türkiye retains the right to impose health and safety restrictions. Consequently, even EU-origin leather footwear must now be imported under full customs procedures and with ATR documentation to demonstrate technical compliance, in order to ensure consumer safety.

Image Credits: Tarik Haiga on Unsplash

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