TIFA DELEGATION HOLDS PRIVATE SECTOR DIALOGUE IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000032 SIPDIS SENSITIVE USDOC FOR 4200/ITA/MAC/EUR/CRUSNAK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD KIPR EAGR TU SUBJECT: TIFA DELEGATION HOLDS PRIVATE SECTOR DIALOGUE IN ISTANBUL REF: ANKARA 15 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The American Business Forum in Turkey (ABFT) organized a private sector forum for the U.S. delegation ahead of the Turkey-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks in Ankara. Representatives of U.S. companies in Istanbul provided formal briefings on the pharmaceutical and agro-business sector; discussed broad issues of concern including bias against foreign companies, perceptions of corruptions and the difficulty many expatriate managers face when applying for work authorization; and provided recommendations for the delegation. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) The U.S. delegation to the TIFA Council met with American business representatives in Istanbul on January 12 ahead of the January 13 sixth TIFA meetings in Ankara. The American Business Forum in Turkey (ABFT),an AmCham affiliate, sponsored this event to inform the delegation of key issues facing U.S. businesses operating in Turkey. The delegation, headed by A/USTR Christopher Wilson and including representatives from USTR, Commerce and State, received detailed briefings on the pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors, and highlights from other sectors. HEALTH CARE SECTOR ¶3. (SBU) A representative of the Pharma Local Action Working Group, speaking on behalf of his group, reported that drug sales exceeded $9 billion in 2008, making Turkey the fourteenth largest pharmaceutical market in the world. He pointed out that the Government of Turkey (GOT) has recently increased transparency in the health care systems as well as patient coverage with approximately 95% of the Turkish population covered by the public health care system. Coordination with pharmaceutical companies has also improved. ¶4. (SBU) He noted that issues including concerns about the reference pricing system, the reimbursement process, and changes to the data exclusivity period still remain. Industry is pressing the Ministry of Health to reduce a built in exchange rate lag in medicine pricing that adversely affects vendors. He also highlighted changes to the data exclusivity period currently under review by the Ministry of Health as potentially quite problematic. FOOD AND AGRIBUSINESS ¶5. (SBU) A representative of the Pepsi Bottling Company described the agricultural sector in Turkey as still primitive and labor intensive. He noted that the sector accounts for just 13% of the GDP despite employing 40% of the work force. He listed many challenges to the agricultural sector including drought conditions, irrigation inefficiencies, very small farm plots, cumbersome government subsidy programs, and problems with seed production and importation. He argued that the GOT could do many things to improve conditions on farms, including speeding up the process for dealing with small plots through reform of the Civil Law, preventing unregistered production, encouraging certified seed usage, and improving the subsidy process. He emphasized the need for the GOT to address water and irrigation issues and to have a single government agency manage its national water resources. ¶6. (SBU) A Cargill representative discussed the Turkish Sugar Law and the negative impact of the quota system on U.S. agricultural businesses. Enacted in 200, the law requires that 90% of the sugar made from domestic consumption be produce from sugar beets, and limits the production of starch-based sweetener to just 10% of the volume of the beet sugar quota. As a result of the quota system, the supply of starch-based sweetener meets less than 50% of the demand, leading to prices that are four to five times higher than world market prices. He noted that while industry would prefer the complete elimination of the sugar quotas this remains unlikely as long as the GOT operates over 20 inefficient beet sugar factories. As an interim remedy, he argued the GOT should increase the starch-based sweetener quota by 50%; and apply a dry substance coefficient to treat starch-based sweetener, primarily high fructose corn syrup which is a liquid, equally with sucrose, which is a solid. The GOT also needs to enact effective controls to fight smuggling and unregistered production of sugar. ISTANBUL 00000032 002 OF 002 OTHER SECTORS ¶7. (SBU) A representative from JPMorgan Chase Bank discussed the banking sector in the context of the world-wide credit crisis. He noted that banks in Turkey continue to maintain near-normal commercial banking operations but investment banking activities had slowed measurably, along with the rest of the world. When asked by a member of the U.S. delegation about assistance to small and medium enterprises (SME),he pointed out that while banks are not making many loans to SMEs, the GOT operates a special program called "Lifeboat" that provides interest-free credit of up to $100,000 to SMEs. ¶8. (SBU) A Motorola representative stated that while overall conditions within the information technology sector remain positive, he was concerned about recent problems with product labeling. He said that Turkish customs officials seem to be implementing EU standards on labeling more strictly than the Europeans, causing delays in getting his produce to market in Turkey. When asked by a member of the delegation about the reason for the change, he suggested that it was indicative of a general bias against foreign companies, and was not directed specifically at U.S. businesses. ¶9. (SBU) A representative of Microsoft described the efforts of his company to combat software piracy and his frustration at the lack of implementation of existing intellectual property rights laws. He pointed out that the overall use of pirated software in Turkey is over 65 percent and claimed that if it were to be lowered to world average levels of 32 percent, the software sector in Turkey would double in size. He also highlighted that although the Prime Minister had recently issued a statement calling on government offices to use licensed software, the GOT is a heavy user of pirated software. He indicated local software producers have also been affected by rampant piracy and have joined forces with foreign companies to combat IPR violations. 10.(SBU) The day closed with a session devoted to the general business environment in Turkey. A lively discussion of corruption focused on the difference between payments made to ensure speedy and efficient service and payments made to induce an official to commit wrong-doing. An accountant/auditor and a lawyer gave presentations on the recent revisions to the Turkish Commercial Code, highlighting positive changes with regard to professionalism and transparency. The presenters focused on the need for the GOT to provide adequate training to the judges and prosecutors assigned to implement this new law. A presentation on the work authorization process underscored the difficulties highly-skilled employees and executives face when seeking permission to work legally in Turkey. ¶11. (SBU) Comment: Feedback from the business community after the event was very good. Participants welcomed the opportunity to interact directly with Washington-based officials. The format of the event - brief presentations followed by Q and A - was particularly successful. We recommend that future delegations include an Istanbul stop and private sector event such as the one described above on their itinerary. End comment. This message has been cleared by the delegation Wiener