Direct Trade with TRNC could turn even more EU citizens into victims

The scam truckIt was an interesting email I received and I decided to use the title but not copy and paste the poorly written but thought provoking  contents. The writer, a victim of TRNC property purchase laws which allowed a memorandum to be placed on their property without their knowledge, argued that as Direct Trade meant selling to EU businesses and consumers then the same might happen to them. They didn’t say much more but the idea stuck in my mind.

The TRNC are seeking to be allowed to trade directly with the EU from next year onwards. Many have argued that this is nothing new as every EU citizen who buys a home here is an example of Direct Trade with the EU. Money from the UK, for example, is transferred to the TRNC and the purchaser expects goods in return. The writer of the email points out that as a result of this trade tens of thousands of EU citizens have paid for goods they have yet to receive, and may never receive. On this evidence alone, surely it would be ridiculous to allow Direct Trade with the TRNC, they argue.

Organisations such as Embargoed! cry out for Direct Trade with the EU and say that this would be beneficial to Turkish Cypriots but the email started me thinking about the other side of the equation; what about the EU consumers. It’s all very well saying that the TRNC would change their ways if they were given Direct Trade but surely the opposite should apply? Surely they should show that they can have even the most basic consumer laws right now? Does the EU have to wait until one of its businesses contact them and says, “I paid £100,000 for a consignment of lemons but when it wasn’t delivered I was told that the TRNC exporter had gone bust and the lemons now belong to the bank!”

Mmm, makes you think, doesn’t it?

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