Hisarciklioglu: Turkey should follow a state-based policy to develop economic relations with the US

Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said on Tuesday in Washington at the press meeting after his visit to the US Chamber of Commerce that Turkey should follow a state-based policy in order to develop its economic relations with the United States.

Stating that despite the increase of trade ties between Turkey and the US in recent years, there is an unbalanced situation impeding Turkey, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We have 26 business councils in 26 European countries, whereas we have only one with the US. However, the economic size of North Carolina is equivalent to Sweden’s while Rhode Island’s is to Bulgaria’s, California’s to Italy’s, Texas’s to Russia’s and New York’s to Australia’s. Therefore, in order to improve our bilateral trade relations, we need to have state or even city and sector-based policies.”

Thursday, December 20, 2012