U.S. President Obama and Turkey’s PM Erdogan will discuss a possible free trade agreement
Balkans.com
U.S. President Obama and Turkey’s PM Erdogan will discuss a possible free trade agreement
4 April 2013
BNE/Economy Minister Caglayan said that U.S. President Obama and PM Erdogan will discuss a possible free trade agreement (FTA) when they meet in May, Erste Bank reports. Caglayan underlined that foreign trade relations with the U.S. has been so far favoring the U.S., as Turkey could merely export USD 5.6bn to the U.S., while Turkey imported a much larger USD 14.1bn from the U.S.
Recall that since the EU and the U.S. initiated the FTA negotiations, the government raised its concerns about the dismal repercussions of the FTA between the U.S. and the EU on Turkey’s trade performance. Despite the decline in the EU’s share in Turkey’s exports, the EU still has a large 40% share and remains an important export destination. Moreover, Turkey has a Customs Union Agreement with the EU and has to accept unilaterally the EU’s FTAs with third countries. Therefore, signing an FTA with the U.S. has become an important goal for Turkey.
