Trade Minister Ömer Bolat introduced Thursday that negotiations concerning the replace of the free commerce settlement (FTA) with the United Kingdom have began.
Bolat met with U.Ok. Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch in London and held a bilateral assembly to debate commerce and funding relations between the 2 nations.
“Trade Minister Ömer Bolat met with the U.K. Minister of State for Business and Trade, Mrs. Kemi Badenoch, in London on March 14, 2024, and had a productive meeting where the trade and investment relations between the two countries were discussed,” the Trade Ministry’s assertion stated.
“They announced that negotiations will be initiated to update the existing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Türkiye and the U.K., which has been in force since 2021,” it added.
“The U.K. is a strategic trading partner for our country, with a trade volume reaching $19 billion (TL 610 billion). Additionally, the U.K. is Türkiye’s fourth most important export partner and the fifth largest investor in Türkiye with $8.3 billion in direct investments,” Bolat stated in a publish on social media platform X, previously Twitter.
“We view this fruitful meeting as a significant step towards further enhancing the existing economic and commercial relations between our two countries,” he added.
The U.Ok. already has an FTA with Türkiye, which was rolled over when Britain left the European Union, however a evaluation by either side final 12 months concluded there was room for enchancment below a brand new deal.
The present settlement ensured the preservation of present concessions throughout the scope of the customs union after Brexit, thus contributing to the commerce quantity between the 2 nations, the ministry additionally stated.
However, the events carried out evaluation research to replace the FTA and make it a extra complete settlement. Subsequently, they declared their mutual willingness to begin replace negotiations with a joint declaration final summer season.
“We already have a thriving trade relationship that will only get stronger with a new, modernized trade deal,” British Trade Secretary Badenoch stated.
She stated a brand new deal may give Britain’s providers sector “a competitive edge in this growing market and has the potential to support jobs across the U.K.”
The Trade Ministry stated the primary spherical of negotiations with Türkiye, a NATO ally, was anticipated to happen in the summertime.
Reminding that the FTA between the 2 nations relies on the customs union established roughly 30 years in the past, Bolat acknowledged that the scope of the settlement is restricted and covers primarily industrial items.
Noting that the whole bilateral service commerce, excluding tourism, exceeded $5 billion in 2022, Bolat stated, “In 2023, the total value of Türkiye’s investments in the U.K. was $4.9 billion, and the total value of the U.K.’s investments in Türkiye was $8.6 billion.”
However, he stated he believed that the products, providers and funding figures are far beneath their potential and recalled that the areas that have to be up to date for a contemporary FTA had been evaluated.
“At the third meeting of the FTA Joint Committee held in Ankara on July 18, 2023, our technical teams shared the review results and finalized this process,” he famous.
“With the joint statement we published after this meeting, we declared our mutual willingness to start FTA update negotiations. We are delighted to learn that the U.K. has recently completed its internal process for starting negotiations,” stated the minister.
“I believe that updating our FTA and expanding it to different areas will help increase and diversify our bilateral trade and further contribute to the strong cooperation and ties between our countries.”
The negotiations, that are set to start on June 10 in London, would concentrate on increasing the deal to providers, investments, and extra agricultural incentives whereas additionally together with “comprehensive rules,” the Turkish ministry stated.
Any deal may enhance British shoppers’ entry to Turkish items comparable to bulgur wheat and tomatoes and supply alternatives for British corporations to extend providers trade exports.
Britain is presently in commerce talks with India, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and South Korea. Talks on a brand new FTA with Canada had been placed on maintain earlier this 12 months after the 2 sides did not agree on eradicating obstacles to agriculture.
Source: www.dailysabah.com