Erdogan: Turkey not frightened by German threats of embargo
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The President of Turkey has fired back at recent calls by politicians in Berlin to cut some ties with their NATO ally, calling German business leaders more visionary than their lawmakers.
“You have to take into account a bigger price [that you have to pay] if you think you can frighten Turkey with your threats of embargo,” Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported President Recep Tayyip Erdogan telling lawmakers at the Turkish Parliament on Tuesday.
Last week, German FM Sigmar Gabriel warned against traveling to Turkey. He said Germany can continue to guarantee corporate investments in Turkey “if there is the threat of arbitrary expropriation for political reasons.”
The president said the Turkish government has never rebuffed foreign investments in Turkey, according to Hurriyet.
We see that the firms of this country [Germany] are smarter, more visionary, more prudent than its politicians, he added, noting that German investments in Turkey were uninterrupted despite German politicians’ threat.
German private businesses, while not socialized, are often highly regulated and can be affected by changes in policy. For example, German law mandates that large companies and corporations have a requisite allotment of trade union representatives on its board of directors, known as “codetermination.”
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) Turkey exported $15.1 billion worth of goods in 2015 to Germany — more than to any other country. Meanwhile, Turkey imported $22.5 billion in goods from Germany — second only to China’s $24.4 billion.
Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was $20,000, while Germany’s was $48,000.
Germany and Turkey have been in a number of diplomatic spats recently, including disagreements about Erdogan wanting to campaign in Germany for his party’s support of a constitutional referendum, Turkey’s human rights record, and Turkey disallowing German MPs from inspecting air men at Incirilik.
Erdogan’s Nazi-era rhetoric towards Germany has also drawn the ire of many European politicians.
“You have to take into account a bigger price [that you have to pay] if you think you can frighten Turkey with your threats of embargo,” Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported President Recep Tayyip Erdogan telling lawmakers at the Turkish Parliament on Tuesday.
Last week, German FM Sigmar Gabriel warned against traveling to Turkey. He said Germany can continue to guarantee corporate investments in Turkey “if there is the threat of arbitrary expropriation for political reasons.”
The president said the Turkish government has never rebuffed foreign investments in Turkey, according to Hurriyet.
We see that the firms of this country [Germany] are smarter, more visionary, more prudent than its politicians, he added, noting that German investments in Turkey were uninterrupted despite German politicians’ threat.
German private businesses, while not socialized, are often highly regulated and can be affected by changes in policy. For example, German law mandates that large companies and corporations have a requisite allotment of trade union representatives on its board of directors, known as “codetermination.”
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) Turkey exported $15.1 billion worth of goods in 2015 to Germany — more than to any other country. Meanwhile, Turkey imported $22.5 billion in goods from Germany — second only to China’s $24.4 billion.
Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was $20,000, while Germany’s was $48,000.
Germany and Turkey have been in a number of diplomatic spats recently, including disagreements about Erdogan wanting to campaign in Germany for his party’s support of a constitutional referendum, Turkey’s human rights record, and Turkey disallowing German MPs from inspecting air men at Incirilik.
Erdogan’s Nazi-era rhetoric towards Germany has also drawn the ire of many European politicians.