ANKARA
Turkey will have to suspend its customs union deal with the European Union in case of a free trade agreement with the U.S., Minister Volkan Bozkir said on Tuesday.
EU Minister Volkan Bozkir warned once again that the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, between the EU and the U.S. without Turkish participation would harm the country’s economy, possibly cutting up to 0.3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product.
“The TTIP is a visionary project, which is far ahead of an ordinary free trade agreement. It is a collaboration project banding the American and Europe continents together,” Bozkir said.
“The free trade agreement feature of this project will affect us initially. If we don’t become part of this agreement, Turkish markets will be open to American goods. This will create an economic loss which amounts to 0.3 percent of our GDP.”
Should Turkey not be included in the free trade deal, Bozkir said once again, the government might have to suspend its customs union agreement with the EU for a certain period of time.
Turkey is concerned with the EU-U.S. TTIP Agreement, as it has no say in the ongoing negotiations. But Ankara would still have to abide by its terms and conditions because of its Customs Union deal with the EU.
Turkish officials argue that future free trade agreements signed by the EU with other countries, such as the U.S., would effectively open Turkey’s market to exports from these states because Ankara is a signatory of the Customs Union Agreement.
But, at the same time, it would also effectively block Turkish exports from benefiting from tax advantages in those same states, should Ankara not be a party to the free trade deals negotiated by the EU.
The Customs Union Agreement with the EU, which was signed in 1995, has come under criticism as of late in Turkey as advantages acquired over the last 19 years have slowly been eroded.
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