‘US-Turkey dispute poses serious threat to trade’

Bloomberg

A growing diplomatic dispute between the US and Turkey could have a “deep impact” on trade, according to a group that promotes bilateral commerce and that called for both sides to defuse the standoff.
The decisions by Washington and Ankara to suspend visa services for each other’s citizens create headaches for US companies with significant business interests in Turkey, ranging from Ford Motor Co. to General Electric Co., Coca-Cola Co. and Citigroup Inc., as well as their Turkish counterparts in the US.
“This will have a very deep impact on many things, especially in trade, if it is prolonged,” Ekim Alptekin, head of the Turkey-US Business Council, said. “We would expect the sides to show common sense in solving the problem, not to escalate it.”
The diplomatic tension erupted after the arrest of a Turkish national who works at the US consulate in Istanbul, over alleged involvement
in the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.