President Trump’s team should negotiate a free trade agreement with Turkey, according to a Republican lawmaker.
Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., has introduced legislation directing the U.S. trade representative to initiate the talks, in a somewhat unusual assertion of congressional interest. The proposal could find a home in a GOP-controlled government and reinforce the president’s efforts to strengthen fraying ties to Turkey, a member of NATO, but it’s beset by more than the usual cross-pressures for such pacts.
“There are obviously some things we may not agree with that Turkey has done on their internal politics,” Mooney told the Washington Examiner. “On the flip side, they have been a great ally to the interests of the United States in the Syria conflict. … As far as bringing peace to Syria and that region in general, Turkey wants to be an ally. They’re naturally allied with us.”
A trade deal with the U.S. would be a boon for Turkish businesses. The Turkish economy has struggled in the midst of a government-declared “state of emergency” that has persisted since a failed coup attempt in July 2016. As it stands, trade between the two nations “remains modest compared to its potential,” according to the State Department. If Trump’s team strikes a deal with the European Union, Turkey — which is part of the European common market, but not a member of the E.U. — would face a new disadvantage. American merchandise could travel through Europe to Turkey, but the Turks would still face restrictions in exporting their products to the U.S.
Mooney hopes a deal would provide direct benefits to his home state, which is in the heart of Trump country. “Turkey doesn’t have [very much] coal of its own naturally, so they need that,” he said.
For Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose political appeal has long benefited from a growing economy, trade represents a top priority in engaging with the U.S. “We seem to agree on expanding our relations in the field[s] of economy, trade, reciprocal investments, energy, and [the] defense industry,” Erdogan said during a joint press conference with Trump.
Of course, that was the same trip in which Erdogan watched as members of his security detail attacked protesters who heckled his regime outside the Turkish embassy in D.C. The State Department denounced the attack, but Erdogan’s impenitent government responded by summoning the U.S. ambassador to Turkey for a dressing-down. That recent history, combined with Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian domestic policies, might leave many of Mooney’s colleagues disinclined to do the strongman any economic favors.
“We have a message for [Erdogan]: We don’t need people like you visiting the United States anymore,” Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., who chairs the Foreign Affairs subcommittee for Europe, said during a recent hearing. “Erdogan should never again be invited to the United States.”
Mooney suggested that a trade deal might “be a force for positive change” in Turkey. In any case, Trump’s team is undoubtedly trying to rehabilitate the U.S.-Turkey relationship that suffered due to disagreements about how to respond to the threat of the Islamic State and the failed coup attempt. There are “no plans for that in the future that I know of from within the administration,” according to a well-placed senior GOP Senate aide, but Mooney hopes that will change.
“I think we in Congress should be a lot more involved in free trade agreements than we have been,” he said. “Over time, a lot of Congress’ responsibilities have been delegated or just passed on to the executive branch, and I think that’s a problem.”
