Türkiye's ruling party announced on Tuesday that it is postponing discussions in Parliament of a bill that includes changes to support investments and the country's defense industry fund amid ongoing regional threats.
The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) submitted the bill to Parliament last Friday but said it would delay debating the proposal until next year after public opposition.
"There were certain objections from our citizens, we will examine all of this in detail," AK Party's parliamentary group chair, Abdullah Güler, told reporters on Tuesday.
"President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan has instructed us to carry out a meticulous, detailed study of the bill. God willing, we will have completed the budget talks for 2025 in December, and the bill has been postponed until after those talks," Güler said.
The bill was projected to raise about TL 70 billion-TL 80 billion ($2 billion-$2.3 billion) annually for the Defense Industry Support Fund (SSDF), which is used to support and develop the sector.
It was to require companies and individuals to make additional contributions to the fund via their tax statements and also envisaged additional fees for people buying and selling real estate and vehicles.
However, the changes concerning credit cards – which envisaged an annual contribution fee of TL 750 for cards with limits set above TL 100,000 – had prompted debates.
Güler said officials would reconsider and examine "if there are some points to change or remove."
The proposal came as Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon and missile strikes by Iran have raised global concerns that a broader war could erupt in the Middle East.
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek on Tuesday acknowledged criticism and debates and said authorities were open to any kind of feedback.
Still, Şimşek stressed Türkiye "has no choice but to increase its deterrent power" as conflict rages in its neighborhood.
"There's war in our region right now. We are in a troubled neighborhood," Şimşek said.
"If we increase our deterrent power, then our ability to protect against fire in the region will increase."
Officials have recently repeatedly warned of the threat posed by Israel, which they say could target Türkiye as well.
"Even if there are those who cannot see the danger approaching our country ... we see the risk and take all kinds of measures," Erdoğan told a conference for Palestine on Tuesday.
Türkiye's defense industry has enjoyed a boom in recent years, but Şimşek said the sector needed strengthening further.
The industry is planning to invest in 1,000 projects, including an air defense system that would protect Türkiye from missile assaults.
Türkiye allocated TL 90 billion from the budget to fund the industry last year. "This year, we increased it to TL 165 billion. Maybe we will need to double this even more," said Şimşek.
Defense companies signed contracts in 2023 worth a total of $10.2 billion, according to Haluk Görgün, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB).
The top 10 defense exporters contributed nearly 80% of total export revenue, he said.
Driven by combat drones, defense exports reached a record $5.5 billion in 2023, renewing the peak of $4.4 billion in 2022.
That figure could approach $7 billion by the end of 2024, according to officials.
Official data from the SSB showed that exports surged 9.8% in value in the first eight months of 2024, reaching more than $3.7 billion.
Türkiye is currently developing its own next-generation warplane, named Kaan, one of its most ambitious projects to date. The first block of fighter jets is projected to be delivered in 2028.
In August, Türkiye announced plans for the "Steel Dome Project," an indigenous multilayered air defense system that would feature a network-centric and AI-supported multiplatform-integrated shield across large swaths of land.
That would crown years of investments that have helped Türkiye transform from a nation heavily reliant on equipment from abroad to one where homegrown systems now meet almost all of its defense industry needs.
For years, Ankara has voiced frustrations over its Western allies' failure to provide adequate defense against missile threats despite Türkiye being a NATO member.
