Turks ban foreigners
Page 44
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• The banks in Turkey have been instructed to refuse foreign exchange transfers for goods and services where foreign transport is employed. In a letter to the banks the Turkish Finance Ministry says that foreign vehicles are to be forbidden to carry goods to or from Turkey, and that goods must be carried in Turkish registered vehicles or the railway service. The embargo applies to all contracts negotiated since June 5 1969.
The instruction, we understand, was issued only a few days before the first batch of 400 Henschel trucks was delivered to a new international transport company in Turkey. It is understood that the company is owned on a 50/50 basis by the State and a group of Turkish businessmen, mainly shipping and for warding agents.
Mr. M. Sherif, managing director of the British company, Turkish Trading and Transport Ltd., which is based in London, told CM that none of those involved in the new Turkish company had been engaged in long-distance transport before July.
The effect on international companies outside the United Kingdom will be far reaching. Those most likely to suffer are the state-owned companies of Hungary, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. At the time of going to press the MoT had not received any official communication from Turkey. A spokesman informed CM that the Ministry had been in contact with the British Embassy in Ankara and were waiting for a reply.