BUSINESS GROUPS WARN GOT ON UNEMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000336 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN ETRD TU SUBJECT: BUSINESS GROUPS WARN GOT ON UNEMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL SECTOR REF: ANKARA 198 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Three major business organizations warned the government on February 21 about rising unemployment and slowing industrial activity. The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB),Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) and Turkish Clothing Manufacturers' Association (TGSD) all issued statements saying the government needs to move quickly to avoid further job loss and cuts in manufacturing. Deputy Prime Minister Ekren and Foreign Trade Minister Tuzmen will meet with business leaders in response to these apparently-coordinated business warnings. Some of their proposals would be welcome, particularly action to free up Turkey's rigid labor markets. Others, however, will be costly sectoral incentives that will test the government's commitment to fiscal discipline. These warnings came the same day that the IMF announced it would again delay closing the seventh review, adding to nervousness about the lack of GOT attention to economic policy. End summary. ¶2. (U) TUSIAD's statement drew attention to unemployment figures, in particular the loss of 52,000 industrial sector jobs in the last quarter of 2007, a 40% increase in job loss from the 35,000 industrial jobs lost in the third quarter. TUSIAD noted that the job loss was occurring in sectors that had consistently created jobs since 2004. "The increase in productivity of the manufacturing industry sub-sectors slowed down in 2007, which reduced the need for the producing sector to increase employment." The increase in per capita productivity dropped to 2.6% in 2007, from 6.3% in 2006. With the slowdown in domestic demand, job creation in the services sector also slowed. New service jobs created in 2007 fell to 77,000, compared to 344,000 in 2006 and 776,000 in 2005. ¶3. (U) TUSIAD's statement added: "The current trends in the Turkish economy do not enable increases in employment. We do not expect private consumption and investment to be strong enough to support high growth and employment rates, as they did in the 2002-2006 period. Considering the slowdown in the world economy, external demand conditions will not be strong either. The possibility of further deterioration of international liquidity conditions, more increases in oil prices, and dollar appreciation against the Euro, may have a worsening impact on external demand." ;¶4. (U) Speaking at a conference on February 21, TUSIAD Business Affairs Commission Head Ali Kibar said fluctuations in global financial markets had reached a point where they threaten the producing sector in Turkey, and urged the GOT to initiate a new reform effort. TUSIAD Risk Management Working Group Head Tamer Saka called on the GOT to come up with new economic methods to address the recent developments in the economy: "At a time when the economy is slowing down, the current account deficit is growing, and inflation is accelerating, Turkey would be one of the first countries to experience the negative impacts, once the disturbances in financial markets are reflected in the producing sector and investment funds." ¶5. (U) The TOBB Industrial Chambers Council issued its declaration after a four-hour long meeting with Industry Minister Zafer Caglayan. TOBB warned that industry was in a "bottleneck," and needed "very urgent" measures to increase its competitiveness. Rising imports resulting from the Central Bank's foreign exchange and interest rate policies have hurt domestic production, and the GOT should take "the necessary measures" to address this problem while watching growth rates and industrial capacity utilization (which we note also has begun to drop, to 80.5% in January, down from 81.2% in December, and 83.5% in June 2007). TOBB also noted recent employment data and market developments, and said these signaled a further drop in employment. "The GOT should not forget the importance of creating production and employment for the Turkish economy, and should express strong will to put these issues at the top of the agenda," said TOBB. The declaration also highlighted the importance of implementing a correct incentives policy, to prevent "unfair competition." Sector and project-based incentives, implemented in the right regions, would prevent Turkish investors from going abroad, according to TOBB. TOBB also urged the GOT to lift measures hindering production and trading in free trade zones. ¶6. (U) While warning the GOT to maintain fiscal discipline, which it said was "vital to economic stability," TOBB said that "the GOT should come up with a roadmap on future efforts to reduce the cost of employment-- starting with the 5% reduction in the social security premium." According to TOBB, the GOT also should work on measures to increase the competitiveness of sectors with high employment levels. ¶7. (U) TGSD Chairman Ahmet Nakkas also issued a written statement, warning the GOT that hundreds of thousands of Turks could be left unemployed in the clothing manufacturing sector. Nakkas noted that the textile sector provides 20% of employment in Turkey, close to three million people. Nakkas said he was disappointed to see that dire predictions his organization made last year were coming true. ANKARA 00000336 002 OF 002 "There are several companies who are at a point of shutting down their facilities, despite the fact that they have customers, due to the GOT's delayed measures to support the sector." Nakkas said the GOT should support establishment of specialized industrial zones, and implement the incentives currently available in 49 provinces for all textile exporters, at least for the next couple of years. Nakkas called on the GOT to implement an Emergency Action Plan for the textile sector. Nakkas also warned the GOT to start focusing on the economy" or else sectoral losses will be "too heavy to bear." ¶8. (U) These business group warnings followed other business criticisms of GOT policy, the most notable from the retired Chairman of Koc Holding, Rahmi Koc, on February 20. Koc said: "the GOT should get ahead of events, instead of following them from behind," and urged the GOT to support employment-creating foreign investments. Finance Minister Unakitan responded to Koc's statement, saying that the Turkish economy was resilient to shocks and had never defaulted on its debts. The GOT was taking all the measures needed to minimize the impact of global fluctuations on Turkey, and Turkey would attract at least $22 billion in FDI in ¶2008. ¶9. (SBU) In response to this unified criticism, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Coordination Ekren announced he would meet with representatives of TUSIAD and TOBB's Apparel and Ready-Wear Industry Council next week. Minister Ekren and State Minister for Foreign Trade Tuzmen will separately meet with exporters on Feb 24 and discuss a roadmap for Turkish exports for the coming year. (Comment: Minister Ekren also is expected to meet separately with TOBB Apparel and Ready-Wear Industry Council Chairman and Southeast Anatolia Project Development Platform member Umut Oran on Feb 27, to discuss issues relating to the GOT's Southeast Anatolia economic package. Details of this package have not been released yet, but investment incentives are expected to be among its proposals. End comment.) ¶10. (SBU) These business warnings, apparently coordinated between groups that do not often work together, increases pressure on the government to act on labor market and industrial sector incentive proposals. Action to liberalize Turkey's rigid and high-cost labor markets would be welcome. Some of the proposed industrial incentives, however, will be very costly and test the government's commitment to fiscal discipline, or will be protectionist trade measures. We note that the business warnings came the same day that the IMF announced yet another delay in closing the seventh review under the current IMF program, due to yet the GOT's continuing delay in acting on the social security reform package. This only adds to nervousness (reftel) about the lack of GOT attention to economic policy, which the business sector is saying, loudly, that it shares. End comment. WILSON#