SWITZERLAND chocolate, textiles and apparel. Counterfeiting of foreign products in Switzerland on the other hand does not appear to be very widespread. A recent case concerned the counterfeiting of "Lacoste" shirts in which a number of Swiss importers and distributors were involved. Swiss courts soon put a stop to this activity. Copyright: Copyright protection is considered adequate and enforcement of copyright law is efficient and prompt. New Technologies: Provision for protecting new technologies is made under the Unfair Trading Act, revised in May 1988. Without listing specific products or processes, Article 5 of the law stipulates that efforts and achievements of others in the field of new and marketable technologies shall not be exploited commercially through technical procedures by third parties. Furthermore, the Swiss government is interested in collaboration with other countries within the framework of WIPO to work out an international convention for the protection of new technologies. With respect to computer software protection, the Swiss government is revising the Swiss penal code, to include legislation dealing specifically with computer criminality and abuse of credit cards. 8. Worker Rights a. Right of Association Unions A Workers enjoy the right of association, join unions of their choice, and select their own representatives. can publicize their views and join international organizations. There are no limits on the right to strike. peace agreement between unions and employers in the 1930's has meant fewer than 20 strikes per year since 1975. b. Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively These rights are guaranteed by law, and acts of anti-union discrimination are prohibited. C. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor There is no forced or compulsory labor in Switzerland. The minimum age for employment of children is 15 years. Children over 13 may be employed in light duties (e.g., helping in retail stores) for not more than 9 hours a week during the school year and 15 hours otherwise. Employment of youths between 15 and 20 is strictly regulated: they may not work at night, on Sundays, or under hazardous or dangerous conditions. There is no national minimum wage. Salaries and wages are negotiated between employers and employees. In industry, wages are in most cases determined by agreements between major labor unions and employers' associations. The federal labor SWITZERLAND act and the Swiss code of obligations regulate several important conditions of work. There is a maximum 45-hour workweek for blue and white collar workers in industry, offices and retail trades, and 50-hour workweek for all others. In practice, the average workweek is about 42.6 hours. Female workers may not be employed in dangerous work or, in industry, at nights or on Sundays. They are also legally forbidden to work two months, after giving birth, although their employer's obligation to pay them sick leave during this time will depend on their length of employment. The employer must re-hire females when pregnancy leave terminates. Swiss federal law also sets minimum requirements in several areas, such as annual leave, length of notice for termination of employment by either worker or employer, sick leave, and other fringe benefits. It also covers occupational health and safety regulations, as well as special regulations for protection in workplaces involving hazardous activities or substances, e.g. chemicals. f. Rights in Sectors with U.S. Investment U.S. capital in Switzerland is generally not invested in sectors which entail employment of substantial numbers of production workers. Except for special situations, e.g. employment in dangerous activities regulated for occupational health and safety or environmental reasons, Swiss legislation concerning worker rights does not distinguish among workers by sector, by nationality of employing firm, or in any other manner which would result in treatment of workers employed by U.S. firms that differs from that afforded workers employed by Swiss or other foreign firms. (D) -Suppressed to avoid disclosing data of individual companies Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Survey of Current Business TURKEY Key Economic Indicators (Millions of Turkish Lira (TL) Unless Otherwise Noted) 1/ National income figures for 1990 are provisional estimates. 2/ Average of large banks, free since October 1988. TURKEY 3/ Rates were freed as of July 1, 1987 and remained as such until February 1988. The average rate for the 4th quarter of 1987 was 53 percent. It was made free again in October 1988, but an 85 percent ceiling was imposed by the Central Bank in November 1988. 4/ Change in index from end of 1988 to end of 1989. 5/ Exchange rate as of December 28, 1989. a/ As of November 2. b/ As of October 5. c/ Estimate. d/ Percentage change between year-end 1989 and October 31. e/ Program target. f/ January-September. g/ As of June 30. h/ January-June. i/ As of August 31. Sources: State Institute of Statistics, Central Bank of Turkey, State Planning Organization. 1. General Policy Framework Turkey's economy has experienced remarkable changes in the years since its historic reforms of early 1980. Today Turkey continues to build on the framework of a free-market economy with an export-led growth strategy and liberal foreign investment policy. The Gulf crisis has resulted in considerable economic losses for the Turkish economy and will require major readjustments to make up for the lost trade and revenue. In September 1990, President Bush established the Gulf Crisis Financial Cooperation Group, which is charged with organizing international assistance to help countries such as Turkey, Egypt and Jordan meet the economic costs associated with the trade embargo against Iraq. In the mid 1980s Turkey was in the ranks of the fastest growing economies in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In 1987 strong domestic pressures on the government for increased public spending led to a worsening of the budget deficit and high inflation. Since 1988 the government has taken measures to reduce the high rate of inflation, but has been unsuccessful in reducing the public sector deficit. Agricultural production suffered a serious setback in early 1989 because of a major drought. The effects were felt throughout the economy. The pace of growth slackened and in 1989 reached only 1.7 percent. The inflation rate reached 69 percent at the end of 1989. Turkey enjoyed surpluses on its current account balance in 1988 and 1989, in part because of substantial receipts from tourism and lower-than-planned import levels. In 1990 Turkey's economy rebounded from the drought-induced recession. Growth is estimated to reach nine percent. Inflation slowed, but higher oil prices caused the pace to accelerate during the final months. Inflation is expected to show an annual rate of 55 percent for 1990. The trade deficit has widened as a result of imports fanning recovery in industrial production. Fiscal policy: In 1990 and 1991 Turkey's public sector deficit will increase due to the Gulf crisis. The 1989 deficit equaled TL 12.2 trillion ($5.7 billion at the average 1989 exchange rate of TL 2121/US$1.00) or 7.1 percent of estimated Gross National Product (GNP). This includes the TURKEY borrowing requirements of budgetary departments, state economic enterprises, and off-budget funds. The deficit is expected to increase to 9.4 percent of GNP in 1990. Turkey has incurred sizeable debt to finance major infrastructure projects, such as the Ataturk Dam and Southeast Anatolia Project. The Turkish government finances its deficit through domestic and foreign borrowing, including the issuance of treasury bills. The Gulf crisis may necessitate increased foreign borrowing. Tax evasion is a problem in Turkey. The remedy is legislation providing for stricter enforcement and penalties. In the absence of such legislation, the Turkish government seeks to generate new revenues through sales of State Economic Enterprises (SEE) and government-held shares of private companies and through increases in value added tax rates, import duties and surcharges. Monetary policy: Turkey's Central Bank is striving for greater autonomy over monetary policy. Policy during 1989 was aimed at controlling the magnitude of the Central Bank's balance sheet, focusing on consistency in controlling domestic credit expansion. To this end, in March 1989 Turkey's Treasury agreed to a ceiling imposed on short-term Central Bank advances to the Treasury. Despite interest rates on savings below the rate of inflation in 1989, savings increased by approximately 70 percent. In January 1990 the Central Bank implemented a new monetary program aimed at enhancing the Bank's ability to implement monetary policy. The primary target is reduction of the rate of growth of Central Bank Turkish Lira liabilities, "Central Bank Money." Other monetary indicators targeted are the size of the balance sheet, total domestic liabilities, and net domestic assets. During the first half of 1990 Central Bank Money grew within its targeted range, but other targets were exceeded. Substantial accumulation of foreign exchange reserves was due to a sizeable inflow of foreign currency responding to high interest rates above the rate of inflation. 2. Exchange Rate Policies In August 1989 the government of Turkey issued Decree number 32 Regarding Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency. This decree, together with amendments published in February and March of 1990, substantially liberalized the foreign exchange regime and created the basis for the full convertibility of the Turkish Lira in line with standards set forth in International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article VIII. The exchange rate is determined by the market and is set daily by the Central Bank based on market rates. In January, 1990 the government of Turkey eliminated the prelicense requirement of guarantee deposits on imports which had been refundable only after foreign exchange payment had been made. During most of 1989, the demand for foreign exchange was relatively low due to slack economic activity and slowed import demand. But foreign exchange inflows increased and the Central Bank held a high level of reserves. At the end of 1989 the Turkish Lira had actually appreciated 26 percent against the U.S. dollar and Deutsche mark (using a |