ISTANBUL
Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan on Tuesday said that Turkey would be negatively affected from the Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement to be signed between US and the EU.
Caglayan chaired the Istanbul Summit, a meeting of the Turkish business world to discuss proposals for Turkey in reaction to a possible Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the United States, in Istanbul.
"Such agreement of US with the EU will both negatively affect Turkey and place it in a position accelerating its current account deficit. I would like to reiterate that Turkey is faced with unfair competition and Turkey also has to begin talks of Free Trade Agreement with the countries the EU has," Caglayan said.
German Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Philipp Rosler who visited Turkey the previous week had also emphasized that the EU shouldn't impose this unfair situation on Turkey, Caglayan added.
Stating that they were putting in great effort not to be left out of the agreement, Caglayan said, "Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan sent a letter to US President Obama outlining that such implementation is not acceptable by Turkey. Yet again, Mr. Erdogan expressed persistently our thoughts to US Secretary of State John Kerry during his Turkey visit. Turkey's trade with US will be negatively affected by the Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement."
Caglayan also said that Customs Union was no longer in favor of Turkey, which used to be beneficial in the past, but has become unacceptable today.
The sanctions on Turkey had to be removed and the Customs Union had to be revised, Caglayan emphasized.
Writing by Birgul Anda Arslan
