November 18, 2011 - Today's Zaman
A bill that would grant the right of free trade between Turkey and Native Americans was approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources of the US House of Representatives on Thursday.
H.R. 2362, the Indian Tribal Trade and Investment Demonstration Project Act, was introduced on June 24 by representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who is the only Native American serving in Congress and also co-chair of the Native American Caucus.
The bill was proposed following efforts exerted by Cole and the head of the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), Lincoln McCurdy, who recommended that Turkey with its noteworthy economic progress can make valuable contributions to the Native American economy.
Cole explained the reasons behind the act, saying that "Turkey has demonstrated great interest in improving economic, political and cultural relationships with Native Americans and is the first country to attend our annual summit this year."
The interest of Turkish companies and their strengths in the construction sector will help the growth of the Native American economy and create jobs for Native Americans. The projects supported by the act will be entirely funded by private enterprise and involves no cost to the US government.
The proposed bill authorizes the secretary of the interior to select up to six Indian tribes to participate in the act, to facilitate economic development by Indian tribes and encourage investment by Turkish enterprises and to remove or ameliorate the certain barriers to facilitate trade and financial investment in Indian tribal economies.
