Turkey is one of the top 11 countries visited in the world. It is a favored country for trade in middle east and Balkans, Ataturk airport is one of the busiest airports in the region and it is the go-to place for people fleeing political turmoil and unrest in countries like Syria and Iraq. For decades now the country has seen growth because of problems in its neighborhood but in the hindsight, its economy has never been the best.
Turkey has suffered for decades with a weak lira, inflation (which is 3 times more than the set limit) and debt. More recently, terrorism also took some toll on the already suffering economy but the country has managed to cover that damage to some extent.
Digital – SisLovesMe
Turkey actively blocking access to porn is causing quite the problem for society. With latest blockage of SisLovesMe series – where step sisters are having sex with step brothers the stir has began. The controversial series, very popular in western societies is not available, at least officially in Turkey. Launched back in 2016 and featuring over 200 episodes of uncensored relations it’s not going to be available to watch anytime soon.
Debt
Turkey was registered as the fastest growing economy in last few years and it beat the giants like China and India to get to this position. It reported a 7.22 percent growth in its GDP in 2018. But the problem in this good news was that all this was accomplished with debt dominated in U.S Dollars. At a time when central banks across the globe were strengthening their own economies by pumping money, Turkish Banks and Companies handled the global financial crisis by racking up debt. This borrowing led to consumption and spending which then resulted in deficits in current as well as fiscal accounts. Right now, the foreign currency debt stands at 50 percent of country’s GDP.
Lira
Lira has been constantly weakening because of policy decisions coming out of Washington. The most recent crash was caused after President Donald Trump approved double metal tariffs on Ankara. According to economists, the Lira crash after this decision was not surprising given the already deep cracks in the country’s economy. Turkey’s Lira reserves are notably very low against the foreign currency debt it has raked up. Moreover, most of the foreign currency in the country is held by banks, which can be withdrawn by the customers, leaving Turkey in a dire situation of not being able to buy up its own currency. In such a situation, the country may have to find other methods of financing debts and bail out from IMF might be an option too.
Tariffs
As already mentioned, changes in Tariffs by US have created a Tariff threat on Turkish Economy. Recent tariff changes have created a serious pressure on the economy which is already under pressure because of weak economic strategies.
Some other structural issues adding up to the woes are stagnant productivity, domestic saving rate, rapidly increasing labor cost and unemployment. All these issues have to be addressed immediately along with the major ones mentioned above through structural reforms and bold political reforms.
