"Customs hunchback of Turkey
EkoTürk News Agency / Ankara
26 March 2007
Turkey had a foreign trade deficit of 279,8 billion USD since January 1st 1996, the date when the 'Customs Union' agreement came into effect.
Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) examined data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat, Turkish Customs, Turkish Statistical Institute and the official website of the EU 'http://ec.europa.eu' and assessed effects of the 'Customs Union' on Turkey which resulted in the 'Customs Hunchback' report.
According to the report, Turkey has a foreign trade deficit of 279,8 billion USD since January 1st 1996, the date when the 'Customs Union' agreement came into effect. This amount constitutes alone the 70,1 percent of Turkey's total foreign trade deficit since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey.
In the last 11 years since the 'Customs Union' came into effect, the amount of Turkey's Foreign Trade deficit with the EU member countries reached 99,8 billion dollars."
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