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“It didn’t seem right for people to be able to offer a trip with a cash value that would be considerable,” he said. “If this budget holds, we’re going to be laying off a lot of people.”
The extent of Alabama’s trade with Turkey is not clear. In 2009, Alabama exported about $85 million in ores to the country, according to the Alabama Department of Commerce, ranking fourth overall in that category. However, Turkey fell off the top five list by 2011. By comparison, the state did nearly $4 billion in total trade with Germany that year. A message left Thursday with the Department of Commerce — formerly the Alabama Development Office — was not returned.
Lawmakers who took a similar trip to Turkey last year said they met with Turkish government officials on the trip, as well as suppliers for Hyundai.
“The big thing was they’re trying to show the world they’re not a radical country,” said Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, who went with other lawmakers in September. “We have a vibrant economy, and their interest is further trade in Alabama where the automotive market has taken off successfully.”
Ward said he paid for his airplane ticket to Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, but that the Turquoise Council paid “the big one,” the trip to Turkey.
Besides Ward, participants in the trip included Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville; Sen. Clay Scofield, R-Arab; and Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills. Secretary of the Senate Pat Harris also went on the trip. Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn attended events with the group, but both Whatley and Ward said last week he was already in Turkey on business.
Waggoner introduced a resolution in the recently-concluded legislative session that called for the United States to pursue a free trade agreement with Turkey. Dial introduced legislation that would have students use textbooks and educational materials in electronic form; Dial said he had seen similar efforts in Turkey. A House version of the same bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, was passed by the Legislature this year.
Dial said it was an “enjoyable trip.”
“This is a cultural exchange, and we were invited by the Turkish Chamber of Commerce,” he said. “I see this as part of our job, and it’s an honor to be selected.”
Brewbaker, though, had reservations about accepting tickets worth thousands of dollars.
“The only trips that I know of that people can’t take are trips to sporting events,” he said. “Well, two tickets to an SEC football game are a couple hundred bucks.”