FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The Department of Commerce has already added 18 Turkish companies to the "entity list" for this trade; this requires US companies to obtain rare licenses to sell sensitive parts of these groups.
Washington is demanding more action from Ankara in curbing exports of US-sourced parts important to Moscow's war machine.
Washington has warned Turkey that there will be "consequences" if the country does not limit its exports to Russia of US military-related equipment that is vital to Moscow's war machine.
Matthew Axelrod, the assistant commerce secretary who leads US efforts to keep sensitive technology out of the hands of America's adversaries, recently met with Turkish officials and leaders in Ankara and Istanbul as part of efforts to stop the illicit trade. His message, according to a senior commerce department official, was that Turkey must do more to curb the trade in American-made chips and other parts that are essential to Moscow's war in Ukraine.
"We need Turkey to help us stop the illicit flow of American technology to Russia," Axelrod said in a statement to the Financial Times. "We must see progress, and quickly, from the Turkish authorities and industry, or we will have no choice but to impose consequences on those who evade our export controls," he added.
Washington's warning is the latest sign of how Turkey's decision to maintain strong trade ties with Russia has soured relations between the two NATO allies. The US, EU and other Western partners have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but Turkey has avoided restrictions and increased trade with the country since the war broke out.
The United States is particularly concerned that Turkey has become a major hub through which Western-made electronics, including processors, memory cards and amplifiers, are making their way to Russian missiles and drones in violation of export controls. Machine tools are another important area of concern.
US Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson expressed frustration over Turkey's trade in military-related goods during a visit to the country late last year.
The US, EU, UK and Japan have joined forces to target trade in around 50 categories of civilian products with military applications, which the allies see as a high priority for Russia's war in Ukraine. According to the commerce department official, Turkey is the world's second-largest source, after China, of high-priority goods of US origin sent to Russia.
Axelrod told the Turkish government that the trade was an "urgent problem" and called on Ankara to "enact and enforce a ban on the shipment of US-controlled items to Russia," the official said. He added that Moscow is "trying to exploit Turkey's trade policy" to access American parts.
The Department of Commerce has already added 18 Turkish companies to the "entity list" for this trade; this requires US companies to obtain rare licenses to sell sensitive parts of these groups. The trade official said "you can expect to see more of this going forward unless and until there is progress."
The Treasury Department has separately sanctioned multiple Turkish companies for allegedly supplying Russia's military-industrial complex.
Turkey's trade ministry declined to comment on the US allegations.
Turkey's exports of high-priority military-related goods, sent to Russia or between suspected intermediaries for Moscow such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, have boomed since the start of the war. It recorded $85 million in the first six months of this year, up from $27 million in the same period in 2022, according to FT calculations based on Turkish customs data.
A large part of these flows may be part of the "ghost trade" of goods that disappear and never enter the markets of their supposed destinations. The large increase in Turkish exports of sensitive goods to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan has not led to an increase in imports of such goods reported in those countries.
However, Turkey's exports of military-related goods appear to have eased somewhat from record highs set in 2023. The US Treasury attributes the drop to an executive order from President Joe Biden's administration that allows it to treat any foreign financial company that transacts with a sanctioned Russian entity as if it is working directly with Russia's military-industrial base.
The tightening stance has also significantly increased the costs Russia must pay to import US-origin goods from Turkey, according to the trade official. He added: "There has been some recent progress." . . but it is not enough, because it is still too high.”/ Taken from: Financial Times
Lini një Përgjigje