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The US ambassador to Turkey said today that companies would consider leaving the Turkish market if the country does not fully pay off debts to US pharmaceutical companies, while criticizing a new Turkish law imposing restrictions on major social media sites.
In an online business conference, David Sutherfield said state hospitals’ debt to drug companies in the United States and elsewhere had risen to about $ 2.3 billion from about $ 230 million a year ago. .
Sutherfield said US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross raised the issue with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Finance Minister Berat Albarak a year ago and received assurances that arrangements for immediate payments would be made.
A year later, these companies were asked to accept significant reductions in amounts owed, Sutherfield said, adding there would be consequences for non-payment of debt or reduced payments.
“Companies will consider leaving the Turkish market or reducing their exposure to the Turkish market. “This is not an address that serves the interests of Turkey,” he said.
Trade between the two countries totaled about $ 21 billion last year, and NATO allies have said they intend to increase it to $ 100 billion.
There are obstacles, however, including US tariffs on Turkish steel and the purchase of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Ankara last year, forcing Washington to pull Turkey out of a consortium that produces F-35 jets. .
At a conference hosted by the US-Turkey Business Council yesterday, Turkish Trade Minister Rusar Pekcan said that tariffs on steel and Turkey’s removal from a US trade preference program had hampered efforts to achieve the business objective.
“Such American policies severely limit the ability of Turkish companies to enter the American market,” he said.
Sutherfield also expressed concern over a law passed in July that Erdogan’s ruling party said would make more American social media sites more accountable due to concerns from Turkish authorities about their content.
Critics say the law will silence dissidents.
“A policy that allows large social media companies to store consumer data only in Turkey could create an inherently uneven competitive environment,” he said, adding that this could eventually push US companies out of the market.
Source: ΑΠΕ – ΜΠΕ
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