Egypt expresses condolences to Iraq over fire tragedy    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Sukari Gold Mine showcases successful public–private partnership: Minister of Petroleum    Egypt's Environment Minister attends AMCEN conference in Nairobi    At London 'Egypt Day', Finance Minister outlines pro-investment policies    Egypt's FRA chief vows to reform business environment to boost investor confidence    Egyptian, Belarusian officials discuss drug registration, market access    Syria says it will defend its territory after Israeli strikes in Suwayda    Pakistan names Qatari royal as brand ambassador after 'Killer Mountain' climb    Health Ministry denies claims of meningitis-related deaths among siblings    EU–US trade talks enter 'decisive phase', German politician says    Sri Lanka's expat remittances up in June '25    Egypt's gold prices grow on July 13th    CBE's Abdalla attends Arab central bank governors' meeting ahead of Sept summit    Egypt's Health Min. discusses drug localisation with Sandoz    Needle-spiking attacks in France prompt government warning, public fear    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt, France FMs review Gaza ceasefire efforts, reconstruction    CIB finances Giza Pyramids Sound and Light Show redevelopment with EGP 963m loan    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt's GAH, Spain's Konecta discuss digital health partnership    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



No more made in Turkey
Published in Ahram Online on 27 - 10 - 2020

The informal call to boycott Turkish goods in some Arab countries is starting to bite into businesses relying on exporting from Turkey to the Arab world, especially to the Gulf countries.
The consequences for Turkey of the campaign have been reflected in a Turkish call for governments in the region to order retailers not to relinquish Turkish products. But as the boycott campaign is popular and not officially sanctioned, Turkey has few tools at its disposal to seek action to stop it, whether through bilateral governmental channels or through the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Though Turkish relations with some Arab Gulf countries and Egypt have been sour for some years now, the popular boycott campaign is an escalation in response to the aggressive rhetoric used by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Earlier this month, Erdogan published a video on Twitter threatening unspecified Arab Gulf countries in an unprecedented way. “These countries did not exist yesterday, and perhaps they will cease to exist in the near future, but God Almighty will continue to raise our flag in the region forever,” Erdogan said in the tweet posted in Arabic with the video of his remarks in Turkish.
Twitter is a popular social-media channel in the Gulf, especially in Saudi Arabia. The platform later flared up with angry replies from people in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf countries attacking the Turkish president and describing his threats as a “declaration of war” on the Gulf and the Arab world.
Analysts described Erdogan's “arrogant statements” as a clear reflection of “his annoyance with the Gulf countries that have stood against his ambitions” in Syria, Libya and elsewhere.
However, the majority of ordinary social media users were also furious. One Twitter user wrote that “not only has he posted the video on his Arabic account, but he also had the statements translated into Arabic. The least we can say is that it is a declaration of war! If it had happened with Europe or Canada, the NATO alliance would have met and things would have become serious. To threaten that the Gulf countries will not exist in the future! If this is not a threat, what is,” he wrote.
A hashtag on Twitter, “boycott_Turkish_Products” went viral and continued to trend in Saudi Arabia for several days. Within a week, eight Turkish business groups, including textile exporters and contractors, had called on the Saudi authorities to stop the boycott. But Reuters quoted the Saudi government media office as saying that the authorities had not placed any restrictions on Turkish goods.
Official trade and economic relations between Turkey and the Gulf states were not severed even when the Turkish president attacked the decision by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt (the Quartet) to boycott Qatar in 2017.
But Ankara then stepped up its relations with Qatar and established a military base there that caused a further deterioration in relations with the Quartet. Erdogan's increased support of the Muslim Brotherhood and other militant groups working on destabilising countries such as Egypt also soured relations further, especially with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
Yet, trade did not stop, and Turkey even benefitted from the Qatar crisis by acting as a transit point for Saudi goods to Qatar at the start of the boycott, though this later stopped. However, since the start of this year trade between Turkey and many Arab Gulf countries has declined by almost a quarter or between 17 and 30 per cent in the first nine months of the year.
The new popular boycott campaign is hurting Turkey even more. The statement from the Turkish business groups went on to say that “any official or unofficial initiative to block trade between the two countries [Saudi Arabia and Turkey] will have negative repercussions on our trade relations and be detrimental to the economies of both countries... We deeply regret the discriminatory treatment that our companies face in Saudi Arabia... and expect the Saudi authorities to take concrete initiatives to resolve the problem.”
The Turkish signatory bodies to the statement included the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), the Turkish Exporters Association (TIM) and the Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges Union (TOBB).
According to Saudi sources, there is no intention to “force” traders, wholesalers or supermarkets to exclude or to promote Turkish suppliers. “You can't impose choices on private-sector businesses and tell them ‘buy Turkish' – that would be absurd,” one Saudi source said.
Emirati political commentator Rashed Murooshid told Al-Ahram Weekly that “regardless of official positions that might be bound by international commitments, the popular boycott is a legitimate way of telling Turkey to feel the repercussions of the irresponsible policy of your leader.”
The trend has also been evident in the UAE and might have been there for some time even before the boycott campaign. “Popular resentment against Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been growing for some time. It has just become evident more now, reflected in the call to boycott Turkish goods after the recent insults from Erdogan of the Arab countries,” Murooshid said.
“When people see Erdogan bombing northern Iraq, occupying parts of Syria, and transferring terrorists to Libya, popular opposition to Turkey grows. These aggressive policies and direct support for terrorists are meant to destabilise the Arab countries, and they already threaten national security. The least people can do is to express their position by stopping buying Turkish products,” he added.
The campaign is also not only impacting Turkey, but is now also impacting multinationals that have production facilities in Turkey and markets in the Gulf. As one Gulf source said last week, “anything made in Turkey or coming through Turkey is not allowed in Saudi Arabia.”
Last week the UK newspaper the Financial Times reported that Spanish company Mango, one of a number of European and US fashion retailers with manufacturing facilities in Turkey, had said in a statement that its teams “are looking into alternatives to the slowing down of custom processes for products of Turkish origin in Saudi Arabia.”
Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia alone exceed $3.5 billion a year, while it imports less than $2 billion in goods from Saudi Arabia. The boycott will thus be hurting Turkey more than the Gulf countries, especially with the trend continuing and including more consumers of Turkish goods or services in the UAE, Bahrain and probably also Egypt and other countries.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 29 October, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly


Clic here to read the story from its source.