Thursday, November 26, 2015

Turkey

Turkey finds itself in a precarious position with ISIS next door and its trading partners on all sides of the Islamic Terror issue. Turkey is a member of the EU and NATO, but builds tankers for the Arab countries’ oil.  Turkey wants to continue to be neutral to maintain its economy, but with its Muslim population is also vulnerable to ISIS infiltration. Turkey is hosting 1.9 million refugees. The anti-Muslim deportation movement in Europe puts pressure on Turkey. Also, Russia’s entry to protect Assad is another development that adds confusion to its EU and NATO membership. NATO was formed to protect Europe from the USSR. Our current battle is with Muslims, not Russia.  We find Russia acting more like a NATO country these days. The failing global economy has countries contracting to become more nationalistic to protect their economies and tend to their unsustainable debts. This is counter to the UN and EU notion that the EU will continue to become the dominant government of Europe.  – Norb Leahy

Turkey is 97% Muslim, with an Area of 303 sq mi, and a Population of 78 million, and a GDP of $1.5 trillion, with a GDP per capita of $19,610.  Government debt is a modest 33% of GDP.

Turkey has the second largest standing armed force in NATO, after the US Armed Forces, with an estimated strength of 495,000 deployable forces, according to a 2011 NATO estimate. Turkey is one of five NATO member states which are part of the nuclear sharing policy of the alliance, together with Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. A total of 90 B61 nuclear bombs are hosted at the Incirlik Air Base, 40 of which are allocated for use by the Turkish Air Force in case of a nuclear conflict, but their use requires the approval of NATO.

The EU – Turkey Customs Union in 1995 led to an extensive liberalization of tariff rates, and forms one of the most important pillars of Turkey's foreign trade policy. Turkey's exports were $143.5 billion in 2011 and reached $163 billion in 2012 (main export partners in 2012: Germany 8.6%, Iraq 7.1%, Iran 6.5%, UK 5.7%, UAE 5.4%). However, larger imports which amounted to $229 billion in 2012 threatened the balance of trade (main import partners in 2012: Russia 11.3%, Germany 9%, China 9%, US 6%, Italy 5.6%).

Turkey has a sizeable automotive industry, which produced over a million motor vehicles in 2012, ranking as the 17th largest producer in the world. Turkish shipbuilding exports were worth US$1.2 billion in 2011. The major export markets are Malta, Marshall Islands, Panama and the United Kingdom. Turkish shipyards have 15 floating docks of different sizes and one dry dock. Tuzla, Yalova, and İzmit have developed into dynamic shipbuilding centres. In 2011, there were 70 active shipyards in Turkey, with another 56 being built. Turkish shipyards are highly regarded both for the production of chemical and oil tankers up to 10,000 dwt and also for their mega yachts.

Turkish brands like Beko and Vestel are among the largest producers of consumer electronics and home appliances in Europe, and invest a substantial amount of funds for research and development in new technologies related to these fields.

Other key sectors of the Turkish economy are banking, construction, home appliances, electronics, textiles, oil refining, petrochemical products, food, mining, iron and steel, and machine industry. In 2010, the agricultural sector accounted for 9 percent of GDP, while the industrial sector accounted for 26 percent and the services sector for 65 percent. However, agriculture still accounted for a quarter of employment. In 2004, it was estimated that 46 percent of total disposable income was received by the top 20 percent of income earners, while the lowest 20 percent received only 6 percent. The rate of female employment in Turkey was 30 percent in 2012, the lowest among all OECD countries.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) was $8.3 billion in 2012, a figure expected to rise to $15 billion in 2013. In 2012, Fitch Group upgraded Turkey's credit rating to investment grade after an 18-year gap; this was followed by a ratings upgrade by Moody's in May 2013, as the service lifted Turkey's government bond ratings to the lowest investment grade Baa3.



Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

No comments: