Türkiye Pushes for Lower Tariffs to Energize D-8 Trade

Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen traveled to Bali in May 2006 to represent Türkiye at a ministerial meeting of the Developing-8 group, whose members are Türkiye, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.

Tuzmen told reporters that while the eight nations together generate a combined trade volume of 860 billion USD, commerce conducted among them reaches only 31 billion USD, a gap he called unacceptably wide.

He argued that steep customs duties, which reach 40 to 50 percent in some member states, are a primary obstacle, and that reducing them would produce gains for every country involved.

Tuzmen also highlighted Türkiye's own trade record with the group: bilateral volume stands at 8 billion USD, and exports from Türkiye to the other seven members climbed from 800 million USD in 2000 to 2.1 billion USD by 2005.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.