Domestic goods preference in public procurement: The example of computer and technology products

Türkiye has been struggling with the current account deficit problem for a long time. One of the main reasons for the current account deficit is the consumption of imported products. As a result of the technological developments we have experienced, computers and technology products are among the most consumed and imported products. Public institutions and organizations also purchase computers and technology products to use in the services they provide. Public institutions and organizations must act within certain rules when purchasing goods and services from the market. The legislator wants a 15% price advantage to be applied to the bidder offering domestic goods, especially during the procurement of products such as computers and technology products to the public. It has clearly expressed its will on this issue with Law No. 4734. However, bureaucrats, who are the enforcers of the law, may prevent the outcome foreseen by the law from occurring for various reasons. In this research thesis, we will try to reveal the situation of preferring domestic goods in public procurement, using the example of computer and technology products. First of all, evaluations were made by creating statistical tables regarding the application of 15% price advantage in favor of domestic goods, based on the publicly available data of the Public Procurement Authority. Afterwards, semi-structured interviews were held with 15 companies that bid for public tenders and various questions were asked to be answered on the subject, and the obtained information, opinions and suggestions were tabulated and a data pool was created. The effects of changes in consumption habits with modernization on Turkish bureaucrats and the data obtained as a result of the research were evaluated together and opinions and suggestions were made regarding the necessary regulations, both legal and administrative. KEYWORDS: Modernization, Identity, Consumption, Public Procurement, Domestic Good