US embassy cable - 04ANKARA2334

UNCLAS ANKARA 002334 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
DEPT FOR EB AND EUR/SE 
USDOC FOR DDEFALCO 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR LERRION 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, EINV, TU 
SUBJECT: INDUSTRY MINISTER PROMISES SWIFT ACTION ON CARGILL 
ZONING PROBLEM 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. 
 
 
1. (SBU) On April 21, the Ambassador met with Industry and 
Commerce Minister Ali Coskun to press for resolution of U.S. 
company disputes, particularly Cargill,s zoning issue. 
Highlighting the importance of foreign direct investment for 
raising living standards and the opportunities to showcase 
the Turkish economy during the upcoming POTUS visit, the 
Ambassador asked Coskun about the status of new industrial 
zones legislation intended to remedy zoning difficulties at 
Cargill,s corn syrup factory in Orhangazi.  Coskun told the 
Ambassador that the GOT was working to resolve business 
problems we had raised previously, that action on a number of 
these cases was imminent, and that he would provide a status 
report on them soon.  In particular, Coskun said that the 
industrial zones legislation was to be submitted to 
Parliament,s Industry Committee on April 22, and that he 
expected the bill to be enacted within the next two weeks, 
possibly over the objections of the Republican People,s 
Party (CHP).  Coskun said that GOT would designate several 
industrial zones under the new legislation simultaneously to 
avoid the perception that this bill was designed only to 
benefit Cargill.  Coskun opined that President Sezer might 
also have reservations about the bill, and said that Prime 
Minister Erdogan planned to discuss this with the President 
to avert a veto.  He added that it might also be useful for 
the Embassy to raise this with Presidential staff at some 
point in the future, but that, for now, this would be 
unnecessary and possibly counterproductive. 
 
 
2. (SBU) The Ambassador also raised the annual sugar quota 
process, emphasizing the need to set quotas which allow not 
only corn syrup producers to operate in a commercially viable 
way, but which also satisfy the needs of various consuming 
industries.  Coskun responded that sugar beet production is a 
sensitive economic sector, given the dependence of 500,000 
Turkish families throughout Turkey on this for a livelihood. 
He said the GOT strives to balance the demands of sugar beet 
and corn syrup producers to avoid chaos in these markets, and 
that beet producers have complained less about competition as 
they have diversified their production. 
EDELMAN