Turkey Calls For Global Trade İncrease To Boost Growth

Trade feeds growth and growth feeds trade, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said Tuesday.



Speaking at a joint news conference wıth Chinese Trade Minister Gao Hucheng on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Istanbul, Zeybekci said global cooperation to increase trade would help to restore global growth.



"Global growth has been below pre-crisis levels for four decades," Zeybekci said.



"To change this downtrend, a single global trade bloc should be formed which would replace the several that now exist."



A first step in this direction are two major free trade agreements - the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is close to implementation, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which is being negotiated between the U.S. and Europe.



Zeybekci added: "Turkey will be present as an observer at the TTIP negotiations and this is critical as the Turkish customs union with Europe means that TTIP will give the U.S. effective free access to the Turkish market."



In order for trade agreements to work, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must be integrated into the global trade network and value chains, Zeybekci said.



"SMEs must be integrated to take advantage of their capacity for innovation and job creation," he told journalists.



The Doha international trade negotiations will continue in Nairobi later this year, when the momentum from previous negotiations should ensure success, Zeybekci added.



"But efforts should be focused on smaller objectives. Trying to break down all the barriers at once will not work but a full-scale effort on a smaller set of issues has a very good chance of success."



A multilateral trade agreement is essential to global economic growth, Zeybekci said, adding that the Turkish government was currently working to remove trade barriers with Russia to establish a free trade zone. - Ankara