DELIVERY OF WTO FINANCIAL SERVICES REQUESTS

UNCLAS ANKARA 000210 SIPDIS DEPT PASS USTR FOR AUSTR PAPOVICH TREASURY FOR LOGAN STURM SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON TU WTO SUBJECT: DELIVERY OF WTO FINANCIAL SERVICES REQUESTS AND TREASURY LETTER REF: 2002 State 262955 (SBU) On January 6, Econoff met with Sevgi Boz, Deputy General Director for Banking and Exchange, at the Turkish Treasury Undersecretariat, on January 6 to deliver reftel letter from Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor to State Minister Ali Babacan, the U.S. WTO financial services request and the U.S. transparency annex. Boz noted that the Turkish financial services were already very open to foreign investment and that this openness was bound in Turkey's WTO commitments. However, she acknowledged that Turkey had not formally updated its WTO schedule in this area and would do so soon. Boz said that Turkey did not plan to submit its own WTO financial services proposal, and that it would take the EU's position into account in considering our proposal. She also stated that Turkey welcomed any opportunity to discuss these issues with U.S. experts, preferably in Geneva, and that the GOT tentatively planned to send its specialists to Geneva sometime in March. Pearson