The Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Turkey-US Business Council (TAIK) organized an online seminar on “What to Expect from US Trade After the Election: Neutral factors that will affect trade partners” online seminar was organized.
Moderated by Mercury Vice President Joe Garcia, the online seminar on the future of trade relations between the US and Turkey was attended by DEIK President Nail Olpak and TAIK Vice President Seymur Tarı, as well as Fred Hochberg, former President of the US Exim Bank and author of the book ‘Trade is Not a Four-Letter Word’.
In his speech at the meeting, Olpak touched upon the activities of DEİK and the importance of TAİK.
Stating that beyond his role in DEİK, he also continues to serve as a Board Member of Türk Eximbank and Turkcell, Olpak said, “We have all been talking about globalization for years, and on the one hand, we have recently focused on localization and localization of globalization. This was the first effect of the pandemic. Secondly, not only are our daily habits and the way we do business transitioning to the new normal, but different sectors, for example; the role played by the financial sector and central banks is also changing. Because central banks have started a program of direct investment support. This was not at all usual in the past. That was the second point I wanted to make.”
“It is no longer advantageous to rely on one large supplier and work only with them”
Touching on other developments with the pandemic, Olpak said:
“The third point I would like to mention is that until now we have been talking about economies of scale, competition, etc. But now we realize that it is no longer advantageous to rely on one big supplier and work only with him. Lastly, we used to talk about near and far, expensive and cheap, and we used to set these as criteria. However, these days we realize that it is much more important. And as a comment, I would like to say that we do not yet know exactly which sectors will be the rising stars. We have some idea, but in the end, I think the winner will be the one who can provide a secure supply chain and transfer goods and services to the other party.
“I like this $100 billion trade target between Turkey and the U.S.”
Fred P. Hochberg, former President of the Export-Import Bank of the USA (EXIM Bank), said that he had been to Turkey many times and that they had collaborated especially with Turkish Airlines.
Hochberg said, “When I came to Turkey, I saw how beautifully and successfully our strong relations were embodied and I have always been aware of my desire and determination to strengthen our relations with Turkey in the future. This is what I remember from my time at the head of the bank.”
Referring to the trade target between the two countries, Hochberg said, “I like this 100 billion dollar trade target between Turkey and the US. This means approximately 5 times the current level. I remember very clearly that when I came to Turkey, one of the issues that was constantly on the table was the trade balance and there was talk of a trade deficit in one direction or the other. I already refer to this in my book. As we move towards 100 billion dollars of trade, I hope that we can prevent the trade deficit from becoming an obstacle for us.”
Stating that the strong economic ties between the US and Turkey will also benefit from the trade side, Hochberg said, “If there is a trade deficit, it may be a small percentage on the US or Turkey side, but the important thing is that if this can bring about a stronger economic partnership, we should make it possible. That’s why we like these activities of TAIK very much. We believe that trade and connections between the US and Turkey should be much stronger. And trade will be a very important and powerful tool here.”
Hochberg also said that much more work needs to be done to strengthen ties, such as education and cultural exchange programs.
Referring to the lessons learned from the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis, Hochberg said that supply chains now need to be innovation-oriented and more resilient, and that it is necessary to build much stronger supply chains.
“I hope we will see more opportunities to do business in the future”
TAIK Vice President Seymur Tarı reminded that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Donald Trump entered into a direct dialog earlier this week.
Tarı said, “They said that the two nations will continue to work together and discussions will continue on what needs to be done to ambitiously increase bilateral trade to 100 billion dollars. As TAIK, we know what this means for the Turkish and US economies. The realization of this trade target is expected to strengthen the alliance between us, increase economic prosperity, and contribute to regional and global stability. I hope we will see that opportunities for doing business will increase even more in the future.”
Source: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/ekonomi/deik-baskani-olpak-guvenli-tedarik-zinciri-saglayan-kazanan-olacak/1916672
