Amid growing regional tensions, the nations of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco have embargoed Turkish goods in order to curtail the ever-growing influence of Recep Erdogan's Turkey.
In the case of Saudi Arabia, it has replaced multiple Turkish goods with substitutes imported from Greece. Social media posts showed Saudi supermarkets filled with Greek produce.
What a blessing to see the products from #Greece, #Egypt , #Morocco replacing the the products from #Turkey
— Ghaith AlTamimi (@GAITAMIMI1) October 21, 2020
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The boycott comes as Turkish President Recep Erdogan blamed several Arab states for destabilising the region, an accusation that is often levelled at the president himself.
Saudi Arabia's Chamber of Commerce president Ajlan Al Ajlan called for a boycott of everything Turkish in a tweet, saying:
"The boycott of everything Turkish, whether on the level of import, investment or tourism, is the responsibility of every Saudi — trader and consumer — in response to the continued hostility of the Turkish government against our leadership, our country and our citizens."
In Morocco, a 90% tax was put on Turkish imports, though the Moroccan chamber of commerce states that this is to protect local producers, particularly within the textile trade. Nevertheless it was seen widely as part of the wider boycott of Turkish goods. In 2019 Morocco imported an estimated $2.24 billion in goods from Turkey. The import taxes are expected to be in place for the next 5 years.
The new boycotts come on the back of an unofficial boycott that has been occurring over the last year. In total, they are thought to have resulted in billions of dollars in losses for Turkish businesses.
Giyasettin Eyüpkoca, president of the Turkish Laleli Industrialists and Businessman's Association (LASİAD) stated:
"There has always been a tough situation with Morocco. It imposes high tariffs, especially at customs duties checkpoints, in order to support more domestic production. But the fact that Morocco is now included in the equation with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt has made its attitude towards us a little more difficult, it has become tougher than before."
Turkey is now embroiled in trade wars and disputes with a vast number of its neighbours, including Greece over maritime boundaries, Syria over the invasion of the north of the country in 2019, with Egypt and France over its role in the Libyan Civil War, with Armenia over its support for Azerbaijan in Artsakh, and now with its Arab neighbours over trade.
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