The US ban on Turkmen Cotton and It’s Impact on Turkmenistan’s Trade Relationship with Turkey

Year 2019, Volume: 28 Issue: 2, 237 - 255, 31.10.2019

Emre Eren Korkmaz

https://doi.org/10.26650/siyasal.2019.28.2.0033

Abstract

As a consequence of many independent reports arguing that forced labour is being widely used to pick cotton in Turkmenistan, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced a ban on the import of cotton from Turkmenistan on May 18 2018. As a significant textile producer, Turkey is one of the primary global trading partners of Turkmenistan which includes the products made of cotton, and these products may be exported to the U.S. and other Western markets. Turkish foreign investment in the Turkmen garment industry is worth analysing because these textile factories produce mainly for the international market, not for domestic consumption. As Turkish investment in the sector is for export, the outputs are expected to be sold in the global market within the supply chains of global brands. Therefore, the various international campaigns against the country that resulted in corporate decisions to stop sourcing Turkmen cotton—have dealt a blow to the economic relationship of both countries. This article aims to map the trade relations between two countries and summarizing the approaches of social actors in the garment industry based on a literature review and interviews with industry social actors

Keywords

Turkmen cotton, Forced labour, Modern slavery, Turkish garment supply chain, Global corporations, Corporate social responsibility, Multi-stakeholder initiatives

Supporting Institution

The author received no financial support for this work.

ABD’nin Türkmen Pamuğu Yasağı ve Bunun Türkmenistan’ın Türkiye ile Ticaretine Etkisi

Abstract

Türkmenistan’da pamuk hasadında yaygın şekilde zorunlu işgücünün kullanıldığına dair çok sayıda bağımsız raporun sonucunda ABD yönetimi Türkmenistan’dan pamuk ithalatını 18 Mayıs 2018 tarihinde yasakladı. Önemli bir tekstil ülkesi olan Türkiye ise Türkmenistan’ın pamuk ve pamuklu tekstil ürünü ithalatında en önemli ticari ortağı durumunda ve bu ürünlerin ABD ve Batı piyasalarına Türkiye üzerinden dağıtılmaya devam etmesi de bir ihtimal. Türkmen tekstiline yönelik Türk dış yatırımı bu açıdan analiz edilmeye değer, çünkü bu fabrikalar iç pazar için değil uluslararası piyasalar için üretimlerini sürdürüyorlar. Türk şirketleri sözkonusu yatırımları küresel piyasaları dikkate alarak yaptığı için birçok küresel giyim markasının uluslararası kampanyalar sonucunda tedarik zincirinde Türkmen pamuğu kullanımını yasaklaması iki ülke arasındaki ticari ilişkilere önemli bir etkide bulunmuştur. Makalede literatür taramasına ve mülakatlara dayanarak her iki ülke arasındaki ticari ilişki analiz edilecek ve tekstil endüstrisindeki sosyal tarafların Türkmen pamuğuna yönelik yasağa karşı tutumları değerlendirilecektir. 

Keywords

Türkmen pamuğu, Zorunlu emek, Modern kölelik, Türk tekstil tedarik zinciri, küresel şirketler, Kurumsal sosyal sorumluluk, Çok paydaşlı inisiyatifler

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