How realistic are Ankara’s hopes of trading in Turkish liras?
While the Turkish lira continues to tumble, Turkey’s currency swaps with China and other countries have failed to live up to their stated objective of boosting trade in local currencies, official data show.
Ankara’s long-standing ambition to expand the use of the Turkish lira in foreign trade was back on the agenda this week as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Tehran, rekindling debates on whether trading in the local currency is a viable prospect or just wishful thinking.
Since Russia and Iran supply most of Turkey’s energy needs, resulting in big imbalances in mutual trade, Ankara’s desire to trade in local currencies is understandable. The same goes for trade with China, which is a major supplier of investment goods and industrial inputs for Turkish manufacturers.
