Decision from the Canadian government on Turkey: Arms export restrictions lifted

In a statement made to exporting firms on the government's official website, it was stated that the restrictions are no longer in effect.

The statement recalled that a policy of denial had been applied to applications for the export of certain defense industry-related items to Turkey as of April 16, 2020, and stated, "As of the date of this notice, the policy of presumption of denial is no longer in effect."

RESTRICTION LIFTED

It was noted that export and brokering permit applications to be made to Turkey by exporter groups, including the munitions list, will now be reviewed on a case-by-case basis within the framework of Canada's risk assessment.

The statement also included standard language found in similar international export permits, including requests for assurances in the event of sales to third countries and certain references to human rights law.

BACKGROUND OF THE EXPORTS

The Canadian government had imposed an arms embargo on Turkey due to its support for Azerbaijan during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, which began on September 27, 2020, and lasted 44 days, regarding the Azerbaijani territories that had been occupied by Armenia.

Canada had imposed an embargo on defense industry exports to Turkey in October 2020, claiming that Canadian technology was being used in Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles deployed against Armenian positions.

Due to this embargo decision, Canadian companies suffered losses between 250-300 million dollars, and the company Telemus Systems, whose sole user of its products was TUSAŞ, went bankrupt as it could not generate any revenue in the first 7 months of 2021.

The Ottawa administration had initiated its first embargo in response to Turkey's military operation in Syria in 2019, but had stepped back from this decision in June 2020 as a result of high-level talks between the parties.