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Free trade deals help Turkey during the crisis

28 December 2009 [17:27] - TODAY.AZ
Free trade agreements constitute an important tool in developing economic cooperation, encouraging liberalization of goods trade and establishing fair competitive conditions in bilateral trade. Exports to the countries Turkey has signed free trade agreements with increased 10 percent within the first 10 months of the year while the country’s aggregate exports dropped 28 percent.

Free trade agreements have helped Turkey eliminate the negative effects of the global economic crisis and have supported an increase in exports, figures have revealed.

Exports to the countries Turkey has signed free trade deals with increased 10 percent in the first 10 months of the year, while the country’s aggregate exports dropped 28 percent. In 2008, the exports to the countries Turkey signed such deals with totaled $12 billion. Those countries’ share in Turkey’s exports reached 10 percent last year.

To date, Turkey has signed free trade agreements with 26 countries to harmonize with the European Union’s preferential customs regimes within the scope of the Customs Union, according to the data attained from the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade.

Ten of these were annulled because of these countries’ full membership to the EU, while the free deals signed with the European Free Trade Association, or EFTA, Israel, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Palestine, Morocco, Tunis, Syria, Egypt, Albania and Georgia are still effective. The approval process concerning the deals signed with Serbia, Montenegro, Chile and Jordan are ongoing.

Free trade agreements constitute an important tool in developing economic cooperation, encouraging liberalization of goods trade, growing international trade and establishing fair, competitive conditions in bilateral trade. They increase global competitive power, encourage foreign investments and secure sustainable export increase by diversifying exports on the basis of sectors and regions.

When the trade between Turkey and the 12 countries with free trade deals in operation is examined cumulatively, it is seen that the rise of exports with free trade deal countries is 491, while overall export rise is 375 percent between 2000 and 2008. Meanwhile, import from those countries rose 299 percent, while overall import climbed 271 percent during the period.

Turkey, whose exports to its free trade partners stood at $2.1 billion in 2000, increased this figure to around $12 billion in 2008. The share of Turkey’s free trade partners among its total exports worth $132 billion reached 10 percent in 2008. Those countries had a share of around 5 percent in Turkey’s total imports last year.

/Huriyyet Daily News/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/58696.html

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