Exclusive Dealing in Turkish Competition Law

Exclusive dealing obligations (i.e., single branding obligations), where a supplier obliges the buyer to purchase the entirety (or a significant portion) of its product requirements from a single supplier, normally falls under the scope of Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (Law No. 4054) which governs restrictive agreements, concerted practices and decisions of trade associations. Exclusive dealing obligations could benefit from block exemption if the market share threshold (i.e., 30%) is not exceeded and their duration does not exceed five years.

Exclusive dealing could also be scrutinised within the scope of Article 6 of Law No. 4054, which regulates abusive conduct of undertakings that are in a dominant position. Accordingly, the Turkish Competition Board had found in the past infringements of Article 6 of Law No. 4054 on the basis of exclusive dealing arrangements (e.g., Karbogaz (01.12.2005; 05-80/1106-317); Mey Icki (11.03.2021; 21-13/173-74)).

For more information on exclusive dealing in Turkish competition law, please feel free to reach out to ELIG Gurkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or through gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com.