Unofficial Saudi ban on Turkish products impacts global fashion brands as rivalry between Riyadh & Ankara intensifies — RT

 Saudi Arabia has forbidden all Turkish-made goods from being brought into the country, Spanish clothing group Mango has told its suppliers in a letter seen by the Financial Times. Riyadh insists that it is committed to free trade.

Effectively, Saudi Arabia has “banned all imports for products made in Turkey”, a Mango employee wrote in an email to the company’s partners in Turkey, which is one of the prime textile producers in Europe and the Middle East.

With the Turkish goods stuck at customs, the Spanish retailer said it was looking for alternative solutions to fill the shelves of its almost 50 Saudi stores.

But Mango wasn’t the only one to be affected, as “all global brands that have stores in Saudi Arabia, produce in Turkey and sell over there” have been suffering from the ban, Mustafa Gultepe, head of the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (IHKIB), told the Financial Times.

Last week, eight leading Turkish business groups issued a joint statement, complaining about “discriminatory treatment” of the country’s companies in Saudi Arabia. They pointed out that “any official or unofficial initiative to block trade” would harm bilateral relations and the economies of both nations, urging Riyadh to resolve the issue.