On the heels of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to the White House, Babacan and Kirk held a joint press conference at the White House yesterday revealing a new trade and commercial policy structure, titled the “Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation.” The framework creates a new Cabinet-level forum to discuss ways to expand bilateral trade and investment flows and to try to resolve disputes when they arise.
Kirk spoke about the new initiative, highlighting Turkey’s economic strength in the region and its already strong ties with the US, saying: “US economic ties with Turkey are strong. However, they have room for significant growth, given Turkey’s development as a market in its own right and its emerging role as a regional business hub.” He continued, saying, “We can ... build on what is a good trade and commercial relationship and make it a much more robust one.”
Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, who will co-chair US participation in the framework process, also attended the press conference, highlighting that “this framework ... will be an important vehicle for expanding trade and investment and creating new jobs for the workers and the people” of both countries. Locke noted that trade with Turkey had reached a record level of $15 billion in 2008 but had taken a hit during the global economic crisis, and stated that there is every reason to expect that the two countries can surpass that “when the world economy gets back on its feet.”
Babacan, who will co-chair Turkish participation in the forum with Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Çağlayan, said figures for trade between the two nations were improving steadily and had the potential to grow further with this framework. Babacan added that the private sector was crucial for bettering economic relations and taking advantage of the new framework. Babacan said the two countries would seek suggestions from business on how to increase trade in areas ranging from energy to agriculture to military equipment. Locke, on this same note, stressed that “the strong involvement of the private sector is critical to our efforts to increase US-Turkish trade and investment. We hope to obtain private sector input in a formalized way to guide government-to-government discussions.”
Seeking ‘easier’ trade with US
Answering a question from the press, Babacan noted that the core of the framework is furthering trade and business relations and that ever since coming to power, this government has always pushed forward a liberal economic policy. “We’re one of the only countries that did not put up protectionist walls during the global financial crisis and also a country that did not have problems with our banking or financial sectors. We’re the only country in the OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] that didn’t have to bail out banks with public funds. We are on the side of more and easier trade.” Babacan, stressing that his government will work towards realizing the interests of both nations, noted that “this framework is a long-term initiative. We shouldn’t see it as an initiative that will only be concerned with a few topics; we should see it as a concept that can grow to encompass a much broader spectrum of issues.”
Babacan downplayed the chances of Ankara using the forum to press Washington to reduce high US tariffs that Turkey faces on textiles and some other exports. On the same note, Kirk noted that the initiative was not intended to be a stepping stone to talks with Turkey on a free trade agreement, highlighting that there were no immediate plans to pursue a free trade agreement between the two countries.
