Although the US has a strong desire to develop trade relations with Turkey, participating in a fresh high-level initiative, its determination to facilitate trade in textiles, however, is not very strong.
A top US trade official said easing customs procedures to allow Turkish textile goods to penetrate the US market at lower tariffs is unlikely despite the US administration’s commitment to high-level dialogue to boost trade.
“Turkey made a very strong case for what they would like to see happen. We were equally practical in trying to help them understand that this is a matter in which our Congress exercises very strong prerogative,” US Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk said on Tuesday on the sidelines of a ministerial-level meeting as part of American-Turkish Council (ATC) talks.
The US is trying to protect its own domestic market by enforcing double-digit tariffs on clothing and other textile items. Such a high figure prevents an invasion of Chinese goods, but is much higher than the average US tariff rate of less than 2 percent. The measure, however, frustrates other countries, among them Turkey.
Kirk said it would be hard for President Barack Obama to persuade Congress to ignore or ease those duties in favor of Turkey, as the United States has done for several poor countries.
Tuesday’s inaugural meeting of the US-Turkey Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation was co-chaired by Kirk and US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke from the US side, and Economy Minister Ali Babacan and Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan from Turkey.
Turkey a priority market for the US
In his speech, Locke said Turkey was a priority market for the current US administration, which aims to double US exports to this country. He said the US would undertake two trade missions to Turkey in 2011.
The two nations pledged to take top-level initiatives to boost trade during President Abdullah Gül’s visit to US President Barack Obama last December. Accordingly, a new US-Turkey Business Council will be established before the end of this year to work on developing trade on 12 key sectors. Furthermore, the two countries are setting up a working group to cooperate on protecting intellectual property rights.
Turkey is one of the few nations that have a trade deficit with the US as it imported $7.1 billion worth of US goods while exporting only $3.66 billion to the world’s largest economy. Turkey’s exports to the US reached their apex in 2006 with $5.4 billion.
Çağlayan is aware of the imbalance in the trade figures and hopes that the fresh dialogue with Washington will mark a new era. “Turkey is determined to do as much trade as it can with every country in the world,” he said.
Babacan added that Turkey has been committed to maintaining “an open economy” with all countries since embarking on economic reforms in the early 2000s. “We are implementing a multidimensional foreign policy and a multidimensional trade policy. We just want to have a high gross domestic product [GDP] for our country … and we know this will flow through more trade and investment,” he said.
Next year’s meeting in Turkey
Attendees of the ministerial-level meeting decided to convene again in the coming year, but this time in Turkey. The ministers also gave the final shape to a letter of intent that aims to establish a connection to work together in foreign direct investment (FDI) between the Prime Ministry Investment Support and Development Agency and Invest in America. The letter is expected to be signed sometime this year. Furthermore, the ministers pledged to improve relations between the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the two countries.
Other measures also came out of the ministerial-level meeting. The USTR, for instance, will organize a non-official workshop in Turkey to publicize the standards of the Federal Drug Administration’s (FDA) best production practices.
Both sides will be better off
Doug Silliman, chargé d’affaires of the US mission in Turkey, has also confirmed the US’s efforts to create and advance investment and economic opportunities that will in the end make both the US and Turkey better off.
Delivering a speech at one of the ATC panel discussions, he argued that the US is working to introduce policies to facilitate trade, investment and joint initiatives between Turkish and US companies. Silliman called on the entrepreneurs of both countries to establish partnerships and develop projects. Eventually, it is the responsibility of the private sectors to deepen the economic ties, he noted.
The first ministerial-level meeting is an indicator of a high-level will and the presence of an intention of the governments of both nations, he said.
Silliman noted that the six-monthly trade between the US and Turkey in the first half of the year soared by 37 percent over the same period a year ago, adding that, albeit good, it is not enough.
Speaking at the same panel discussion, Koç Holding Chairman Mustafa Koç also focused on the need to improve economic relations between the two countries. He argued that prioritizing military and strategic interests in US-Turkish relations is not functional. “This doesn’t mean these interests are not important, but a solid economic foundation is a must for a sustainable and stable relationship,” he said.
21 October 2010, Thursday
TODAY’S ZAMAN İSTANBUL
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