Turkish Exporters See Political Strife With Saudis Hitting Trade - Bloomberg

Turkish Exporters See Political Strife With Saudis Hitting Trade - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia is hindering the entry of goods from Turkey, Turkish companies say, suggesting that political tensions between the regional powers are increasingly spilling over into trade.

The claims prompted a Turkish official familiar with the issue to warn on Thursday that Ankara doesn’t rule out an appeal to the World Trade Organization; while the world’s largest container line has warned clients about likely disruption.

Cargo from Turkey to Saudi ports “will be subjected to possible import bans and/or slowed various customs clearance,” the Turkish agent of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S said in a Sept. 29 email.

Transiting cargo over land has been blocked, according to Kemal Gul, the owner of Gulsan Transport, a logistics firm based near Turkey’s southern border with Syria, who says the pandemic has given Saudi authorities an excuse to restrict access. “We’re not having such issues with Iran or Iraq. It seems to me they’ll now hamper sea transport.”