16.03.2022 Ankara
M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, president of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), stated that Turkey is an attractive production center for the surrounding countries and said, “At this point, I invite US investors to consider Turkey as an investment and trading base.”
“TOBB-U.S. Chamber of
Commerce Memorandum of Understanding” signing ceremony and working dinner were
held in TOBB within the scope of Ankara contacts of Myron Brilliant, Senior
Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who came to Turkey at the
invitation of Hisarcıklıoğlu.
In addition to
Hisarcıklıoğlu and Brilliant, US Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry Flake and Deputy
Trade Minister Mustafa Tuzcu attended the ceremony.
Speaking here,
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that while the Covid-19 pandemic’s difficulties for
economies, breaks in value chains, an increase in raw material prices and
security of supply, as well as the prospects of the Ukraine-Russia war.
“First of all, I want
to emphasize one thing strongly. We consider Russia's attack on Ukrainian
territory unacceptable. We support Ukraine's sovereignty, political unity and
territorial integrity. Russia and Ukraine are our close neighbors,” he said.
Stating that Russia is
one of Turkey's leading trading partners, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the negative
impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis next door should be carefully monitored.
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that there are three dimensions of Turkey-U.S. relations: military, political
and economic, “We, as the business world, always want priority to be given to
approaches that will promote the commercial aspect of our relations. Because we
know that the way to prosperity, peace and security is through trade. We think
that the 100 billion trade target is realistic and compatible with the
production potential of our countries.”
Pointing out that TOBB
and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have been working together for years to
increase trade and create a more favorable investment and business climate,
Hisarcıklıoğlu continued:
“We must increase
Turkey-U.S. trade to a level worthy of two allied countries. I want to
reiterate. Turkish and U.S. business will be able to achieve the $100 billion
trade target. We believe this goal is realistic. There are serious
opportunities for US investors in Turkey. Our country is also an attractive
production center for the surrounding countries in terms of its location and
human resources. At this point, I invite US investors to consider Turkey as an
investment and trading base. We want to expand our cooperation with the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce in these areas as we have done so far.”
- “Cooperation in
health, energy and IT will be emphasized”
Hisarcıklıoğlu also
stated that he has expectations from politicians on this issue and said: “A
free trade agreement or similar preferential trade agreement should be signed
between Turkey and the United States. Turkey should be exempt from Section 232.
Because the Turkish business community suffers significantly from this. We ask
for support in resolving this issue which negatively affects our bilateral
trade as soon as possible. Turkey is extremely successful in the contracting
sector. Turkish and U.S. companies have also signed joint projects in third
countries. Within this framework, the U.S. contracting market should also be
opened to Turkish companies.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that with the memorandum of understanding signed, they will also have agreed on
the areas of cooperation for 2022, and said that they will focus on cooperation
in health, energy, information technologies, digital economy, tourism and
infrastructure.
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that TOBB and the American Chamber of Commerce will strengthen cooperation in
third countries in 2022, adding: “We plan to make the Turkish Trade Center,
which is especially active in Chicago, carry out logistics operations in the
future. So far, 50 companies have started to benefit from this center. Thus, we
will be able to provide door-to-door service when Turkish companies enter the
American market. We're also going to make logistics operations of American
companies cheaper. We plan to expand our logistics network throughout the U.S.
to 5-6 states with the support of the Ministry of Commerce.”
- “Our vision is to
consolidate the position of production and trade base”
Deputy Minister of
Commerce Tuzcu underlined that Turkey is one of the most important destinations
attracting global investments and said that the country stood apart from the
competition during the pandemic with its macroeconomic data. Reminding that
Turkey has risen to 33rd place among 190 countries in the World Bank
Ease of Doing Business Index by 2021, Tuzcu pointed to the growth and export
figures obtained over the last two years. “In light of these positive
developments, the long-term vision of the Turkish economy is to complete the
digital and green transformation, to consolidate its position as a highly
competitive, logistics and legal infrastructure strong production and trade
base,” Tuzcu said.
Tuzcu stated that they appreciate
and welcome US companies’ investments in Turkey and the year-over-year increase
of these investments, “Investment and trade relations between Turkey and the
United States have recently come a long way despite the pandemic and other
conditions. In the achieving these distances, 2,000 U.S. companies have made a
significant contribution, making the United States the second-largest
investment country in our country with $14 billion, and these investments show
their confidence in Turkey and its economy. Considering that the United States
has $8 trillion in direct investment in the world, we think that much more
investment can come from the United States in the current advanced investment
environment in Turkey, this potential is much greater.”
Tuzcu explained that
the United States is also a very important destination for Turkish investors
and that Turkish companies have $8.3 billion in investments in this country,
adding that the United States is the second most invested destination of
Turkish companies. “It is safe to say that the mutual trust felt by investors
in both countries has an important role in the development of trade and
economic relations between our countries, and that the greatest contribution to
the strategic structure of our relations will come from trade and economic
relations,” Tuzcu said.
- “Steel taxes should
be abolished”
Tuzcu stated that the
trade volume of the two countries reached 31.4 billion dollars last year, and
that with this level, the United States became the second country after Germany
where Turkey reached the highest trade volume. Tuzcu also stated that they are
in talks with the U.S. administration to further develop trade and economic
relations, “The exemption from steel and aluminum taxes in Section 232 is our
important expectation from the U.S. administration. In this expectation, we
anticipate that we will have the support of the American private sector. At
this point, we have previously stated that the good dialogue established
between Japan, Korea, the EU, many countries and the United States can also be
established with Turkey and we expect their contributions in this regard.”
Tuzcu stressed that
they think digital and green transformation issues will be important topics for
cooperation and said they are ready to work closely with them.
Noting that companies
including many American companies have experienced serious negative effects in
the global supply chain, especially at the point of production and
manufacturing, especially in Asia, Tuzcu said, “In this context, I would like
to state that Turkey can be an alternative to the Asia-based production network
in terms of repositioning investments and has serious potential and advantages
for U.S. investors who are looking for this alternative. I would like to state
that we expect the American private sector to increase cooperation with our
companies considering advantages.”
- U.S. Ambassador to
Ankara Jeffry Flake
U.S. Ambassador to
Ankara Jeffry Flake thanked the Turkish government and people for seeking
diplomatic solutions to the Russia-Ukraine war, saying they had come together
“in the shadow of an inhumane attack” by the Kremlin.
“Russia, of course,
will pay a great price economically, politically and diplomatically for this
invasion. The international community is much stronger and more collaborative
than ever,” he said.
In the short term,
there will be some trade cuts, but as partners and allies, they need to
increase trade and trade ties, Flake said, “About 1,100 American companies
were doing business in Russia. Some of them are leaving now. Others said they
would shift some of their operations to Turkey. I think American companies
should think about the Turkish market.”
Flake pointed out that
this could be an opportunity for Turkey to attract more foreign investors, “One
of the most important conditions for attracting and keeping foreign investment
is that the business environment is stable and sustainable. We hope that with
this cooperation between TOBB and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, we can achieve
this goal.”
- “Turkey's exports to
the United States increased by 45% during the epidemic”
Noting that the volume
of US-Turkey bilateral trade reached $28 billion last year, Flake said, “This
means a 30 percent increase in one year. Of course, Turkey's exports to the
United States are a contribution to this. That's very impressive. During the pandemic,
Turkey's exports to the United States increased by 45 percent.”
Flake stated that more
than 1900 American companies are active in Turkey and have invested $20 billion,
“Therefore, there is sufficient ground for the strengthening and development
of our bilateral economic relations. I always tell American companies that
Turkey is a market they should think about for their products, services and
investments.”
Flake stated that
relations between states can be improved, pointing out that American companies
have positive views about the Turkish economy when it comes to investing in
Turkey in the long term.
- “We cannot be if we
don’t stand together in the international system we live in”
Brilliant, Senior Vice
President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce and TOBB have a very robust and historic relationship.
“I think both
organizations are not only improving the lives of people in both countries, but
also playing a very important role here and improving US-Turkey relations,
considering the role Turkey and the United States play in global relations,”
Brilliant said, noting that they have met with TOBB many times on different
platforms.
Brilliant emphasized
that the Russia-Ukraine war affected all citizens as well as the great
difficulties created by the Covid-19 pandemic, and said that long-standing
companies and US chambers in Ukraine had to leave. “That's why we can't be
strong if we don’t stand together in the international system we've been living
in since the end of the Second World War,” Brilliant said.
Stating that Turkey can
attract investments and trade, Brilliant expressed appreciation for the
assistance of the Turkish government and the private sector in dealing with the
humanitarian crisis.
- A new opportunity for
US-Turkey relations
“We need to be aware of
the current situation and really focus more on this partnership. In my opinion,
this shows an opportunity that has not arisen in terms of US-Turkey relations
before. I have to say that this situation presents an opportunity for both the
United States and Turkey.”
“We have increased the
trade volume to $32 billion in 2021, which shows how important the United
States and Turkey are to each other,” Brilliant said, noting that they should
consider how high-level trade dialogues can be strengthened.
- Emphasis on common
strategic mechanism
Pointing to the
existence of greater potential, Brilliant said, “I think that having a new
US-Turkey common strategic mechanism and having a trade component in it will
further strengthen this improvement. Both economic and commercial dialogue
needs to be improved. Perhaps with the establishment of such a mechanism at the
level of ministries, important work can be carried out.”
Brilliant explained
that they should work on a free trade agreement, digital trade, energy and
renewable energy, and an energy model that can enable Turkey to find new
sources of gas, and noted that the United States can be a reliable supplier in
this sense.
Brilliant said that
policymakers in the United States also care deeply about this issue, adding
that “reducing dependence on China and Russia will improve relations between
the United States and Turkey. Stronger supply chains, diversification of
energy, and the use of LNG from the United States will, in my opinion, allow
Turkey to participate more in the global value chain.”
Stating that it would
be important for Turkey to participate in a digital agreement in Europe and the
Pacific, Brilliant said that the principles of carrying out cross-border data
transfer will also be an important part of the dialogues of the two countries.
- “Businesswomen's
Council can be created”
Brilliant stated that
ensuring women's participation in the workforce will also be important for
promoting economic prosperity, “TOBB and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should
think in this sense, 'How can we contribute to the success developing in Turkey'.
I think maybe a Businesswomen's Council can be created with the U.S. State
Department,” she said.
Underlining that they
are in Turkey because consider this an opportunity for change, Brilliant
concluded, “We have been investing in this country for a very long time and we
will continue to invest for a very long time.”
After the speeches, the
TOBB-U.S. Chamber of Commerce Memorandum of Understanding was signed by
Hisarcıklıoğlu and Brilliant.
(A.A.)