Gov’t shelves sanctions against Russia
Posted by meb at September 2nd, 2008
Turkey has stepped back from implementing full-fledged Customs inspections on trucks from Russia and vehicles carrying goods of Russian origin, which had been devised as retaliation against actions taken by Russian Customs authorities on Turkish exporters attempting to cross the Russian border.
Following a Cabinet meeting yesterday Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesperson Cemil Çiçek announced that negotiations for a solution with Russia would continue in the days ahead. A proposal floated by Minister of State for Foreign Trade Kürşad Tüzmen to retaliate for non-tariff barriers imposed by the Russians was not approved, he added.
Tüzmen had announced on Friday that Turkey would officially launch a package of measures against Russia on Monday by placing it in the high-risk country category. Russia recently labeled Turkey a high-risk country. Tüzmen had said earlier on Monday that Russian goods were “in the red channel,” meaning Turkish Customs officials would physically check Russian goods at border crossings, in lieu of relying solely accompanying documentation. Turkish officials would also implement the “red channel” against goods from third parties to Russia, forcing Russian goods to wait at the border.
Tüzmen was speaking yesterday to a group of Turkish reporters in Ürümqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where he was attending the 17th International Commerce Fair.
Asked to what extent Turkey is prepared to impose these measures on the Russian Federation, Tüzmen said: “We had to make this decision to respond to the barriers Russia started to apply against us for a reason we don’t exactly know. These barriers, similar to those of the Russians, will also include trucks that carry goods from third countries and that pass through Turkey en route to Russia. What we really want is that the Russians put an end to this situation and take steps to further boost trade instead of axing it.”
Russia says lengthy inspections of trucks from NATO-member Turkey, which coincide with tensions between Moscow and the military alliance over the Caucasus, where Russia this month fought a short war with Georgia, are due to a new Customs law.
The minister had voiced serious concerns on several occasions over what Russia was doing and defined the case as a clear “non-tariff barrier” that was being intentionally imposed on Turkey. In addition to inspecting trucks coming directly from Turkey, Russians responded to Turkish demands to lift the sanction by expanding the scope of inspections even further by including trucks that come from elsewhere but carry goods that are produced by Turkish companies. A Customs officer can track the origin of a product by checking the consignment documents of goods in a truck.
Underlining that Turkey is targeting $38 billion in total trade volume with this country by the end of this year, a significant increase over last year’s $27 billion, the minister asserted that these troubles are undermining such bold targets that will make both sides better off in the end. Turkish investment in Russia is around $5 billion, while Turkish contractors have undertaken Russian construction projects worth over $25 billion. Russia’s top trade partners are the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, China and Turkey. Last year, Turkish exports to Russia reached $4.7 billion, mostly automobiles, citrus fruit, tomatoes, synthetic thread, textiles and jewelry. Turkey imported mostly petroleum and natural gas from Russia, worth $23.5 billion.
Turkish business groups said exporters would lose $3 billion in the short term if the delays on goods were kept in place. “We have patiently conveyed our demands to the Russian authorities several times and have received no positive answer from them. Therefore, we had to initiate reciprocal action against them. This is in hope of receiving a positive answer from them, not an effort to make the situation more heated,” he noted.
Many Turkish companies, especially textile and food producers, have significant economic interests in Russia and have already been put into a difficult position by failing to ship goods to their customers on time due to the inspections at the Russian border, which take weeks to complete. The inspections have already led to the loss of many perishable goods, most of which are fruits and vegetables.
Meanwhile the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade asked the Undersecretariat of Customs in a written statement on Friday to begin routing Russian trucks into the “red channel.” The statement asked Customs officers to take the issue seriously in accordance with the “urgency of the subject matter and the need to protect the economic and commercial rights of the country.” Turkish officials will gradually implement other measures.
Turkey, a close US ally which aspires to join the European Union, has been forced to walk a fine line between its loyalties to NATO and its large financial and energy interests in Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due in İstanbul on Tuesday for a visit that is expected to be dominated by talks over Turkey’s management of shipping through the Bosporus.
The international community has condemned Russia’s campaign in Georgia and its subsequent recognition of Georgian breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. Turkey has refrained from strong condemnations of Russia.
The economic disputes are having repercussions in the foreign press as well. A few days after the Financial Times published a controversial article on the issue, The Guardian, too, published an analysis to delve into what is happening between these two important trade partners. The newspaper claimed the two countries are approaching what it called a “trade war.” Turkey’s decision to retaliate against Russia’s strict inspections might endanger Turkey’s energy supply security, the newspaper underlined, noting that Turkey fills two-thirds of its total gas needs from this country.
Turkey, on the other hand, has no intention of pushing the adversity to greater levels but instead is looking to find conciliatory ground.
To this aim, Turkey proposed forming a regional cooperation group to stabilize the Caucasus region following the war between Russia and Georgia. The group would include Turkey and four nearby Caucasus nations — Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia — Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Sunday.
source: Today’s Zaman
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