Brussels, 18/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - To derive full benefit from the commercial opening up between the EU and Turkey, whose bilateral trade in goods and investment flows are growing, Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht wants to move forward with the customs union mechanism which had been in force since 31 December 1991 but is still restricted to goods alone.
The EU is by far the largest market for Turkish products, accounting for some 46% of its global trade, and the source of nearly 80% of foreign direct investment in Turkey, with some 13,500 companies in Turkey operating with European backing and capital. And Turkey is the EU's 7th largest trading partner, De Gucht said at a conference of the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON), in Istanbul on 17 November. EU investors have cast their nets far more widely than the traditional trade in goods, so that they now feature in almost every sector of the Turkish economy, from machinery to renewable energy, from insurance services to grocery retail. This is also increasingly the case the other way around, the commissioner said, refering, inter alia, to the recent takeover of French electric vehicle manufacturer Tilter by a group of Turkish companies. “We need a trade regime that fits our everyday economic reality, one that helps rather than hampers future opportunities. In the context of the EU-Turkey customs union, that means we just have to find realistic solutions to the trade irritants that threaten to sour the debate between us”, De Gucht argued. The European Commission would like to improve and take forward the long-established but restricted customs union mechanism; discussions on extending it to services and public contracts have, however, been frozen since 2002. In an attempt to woo Turkish business circles, De Gucht praised the ambitions of Turkey in the Middle East, Asia and the Mediterranean. “I see this not as a threat but as an opportunity for EU-partners, as Turkish exports are often fuelled by European imports and stimulated by European investments. And if Turkey strengthens its economic bond with the new, democratic regimes in the Mediterranean, whose young and eager populations so desperately need some light at the end of their economic tunnel, we can only applaud that”, he insisted.
In 2010, the EU imported goods and services worth €42 billion from Turkey, mainly machinery and transport equipment, and also textiles. EU exports in goods and services - mainly machinery, transport material, chemical products and manufactured goods - to Turkey were worth €61 billion that same year. In addition, between 2008 and 2010, Turkish foreign direct investment in the EU amounted to €2.1 billion, with the FDI flow from the EU to Turkey being worth €14.7 billion. (EH/transl.rt)