Turkish market experts predict that the nation will incur five billion dollars in losses from a possible military campaign against Iraq. An attack would affect Turkish exports and transportation revenues, asserted the State Planning Organization (DPT). Income from tourism is also forecasted to drop by 15 percent.
The Turkish government has expressed strong disapproval over the United States’ plans to target Iraq as part of its war on terror. The Republic has suffered more than $30 billion losses from the continuing embargo against Iraq since the early nineties. In addition, trade relations have not only been damaged with Iraq but also with other Arab nations south of Turkey.
A disruption of Iraqi-Turkish trade would deal another blow to Turkey's crisis-racked economy. The country’s economic turmoil, which erupted in the banking sector in February 2001, sent Turkey into one of the worst recessions in its modern history, pushing inflation up and causing the lira to lose some 50 percent against the dollar. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
