44% Increase in Exports to the US in 2021

Turkey's Exporters Council conducts commercial diplomacy activities in the United States with the goal of reaching USD 100 billion in bilateral trade, a goal set jointly by Turkey and the United States. The Council, which serves as the single umbrella organization for over 100,000 exporters across 61 exporter associations representing 27 sectors, organized the trip under the coordination of the Turkish Presidency Communications Directorate. The visit program, attended by senior officials, parliament members and business representatives from Turkey, is expected to make positive contributions to commercial relations between Turkey and the United States. Evaluating the commercial diplomacy activities conducted by the Turkish delegation in the United States, TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle stated: "In 2021, our exports to the United States increased by 44 percent. Our trade volume reached USD 28 billion with a 29 percent increase. Consensus was reached that Turkey would become a major commercial hub. The United States, like the rest of the world, understood this very well. We are on track to reach our USD 100 billion trade volume target with the United States. Our common language is trade. As trade develops, politics will develop as well," he said. Making a fast start to 2022 by organizing trade delegations to Dubai, Tel Aviv and Barcelona with the coordination of the Ministry of Commerce and intensive participation of leading exporters from their sectors, the Turkey Exporters Council, the single umbrella organization for over 100,000 exporters, this time conducted commercial diplomacy activities in the United States under the coordination of the Presidential Communications Directorate. Organized within the framework of the USD 100 billion trade target with the United States, the delegation was headed by Ziya Altunyaldız, Chairman of the Parliamentary Industry, Commerce, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology Commission and AK Party Deputy from Konya. The delegation also included Burak Dağlıoğlu, Head of the Presidential Investment Office; Çağatay Özdemir, Deputy Head of the Presidential Communications Directorate; Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, Vice Chairman of TOBB Board of Directors; and on behalf of TİM, Deputy Chairman Başaran Bayrak and Vice Chairman of the Turkey Exporters Council Brand Council Süleyman Orakçıoğlu, along with many business representatives. Evaluating the "Panel Series on Increasing Turkey's Role in Transatlantic Exports and Commercial Diplomacy Activities" project implemented under the coordination of the Turkish Presidency Communications Directorate and the Turkey Exporters Council, TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle stated: "Our delegation held productive meetings with US officials and economic authorities. We conveyed to them that political issues between Turkey and the United States should be resolved sincerely between governments. We also pointed out that anti-dumping measures applied to steel and tariffs applied to steel and aluminum negatively affect mutual trade," he said.

"Indicators in Turkey-US trade are moving forward positively"

Noting that US trade volume reached a record USD 28 billion at the end of 2021, showing a 29 percent increase, TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle said: "Our trade volume with the United States reached USD 28 billion and the indicators are moving forward positively for the future. We reached consensus with the US side that Turkey's food sector has a very low share in trade with the United States and much more progress needs to be made in this area. The US Commerce Secretary will visit Turkey soon. It is expected that a number of mutual protocols will be signed in this regard," he said.

"We emphasized that Turkey is an important center in energy"

Stating that there were suggestions to move jointly in this market regarding Turkey's geopolitical position and trade experience with Africa, TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle said: "During this time, we mentioned that Turkey has signed the Paris Climate Agreement and is preparing for a carbonization program and that environment-friendly production programs will be activated in Turkey in the near future. We conveyed that Turkey is an important country in energy, particularly through the TANAP project which allows Azerbaijani gas to reach Europe comfortably through Turkey. We emphasized that Turkey is an important hub and center in energy," he said. Noting that it was understood during the pandemic that Turkey is a good supplier country and that single-point production would create problems in the supply chain, TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle stated that consensus was reached on Turkey being a good hub. "Like the rest of the world, the US side understood this very well. Turkey is a country that responds very quickly to demands and has good production potential," he said.

"We conveyed our requests for US companies to redirect their operations to Turkey"

Stating that they said Turkey would be the most suitable place for companies leaving Russia and Ukraine due to the war between them, TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle said: "We conveyed our requests for US companies leaving Russia to redirect their operations to Turkey and invited them to Turkey. They noted this. In the coming days, we will hold meetings with the participation of Turkey's Chambers and Exchanges Union, Turkey Exporters Council and US chambers of commerce and conveyed our joint views on signing an MOU. They indicated they would view this positively," he said.

"As trade develops, politics will develop"

Drawing attention to the fact that Turkey increased its exports by 30 percent during the pandemic, TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle said: "With the joint consensus of our President and the US President, a target of USD 100 billion in trade volume between Turkey and the United States was set. Our trade volume with the United States is steadily climbing, as the announced figures show. This growth momentum continues in 2022 as well. We particularly conveyed to US officials and business representatives that we want to expand our exports to other US states in addition to certain states where our exports are concentrated, such as Texas, Washington and Louisiana. Turkish brands' effectiveness around the world is steadily increasing. Turkish brands have over 4,000 stores worldwide and we are present in every geography. We have experience in the United States, Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. We have also learned to compete in global competition. We strongly expressed that they could participate in this development of Turkish brands and make investments," he said. TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle said: "To summarize, it was an intensive program. Our delegation held extensive discussions with US officials and business representatives. I believe these meetings were generally productive but should not remain a one-time occurrence; sectoral trade delegations especially need to be conducted more frequently. Through these meetings, I believe we broke down preconceptions. Our common language is trade. As trade develops, politics will develop. We are ready to do our part in this regard," he said. Commenting on their visit to the United States, Turkey Exporters Council Deputy Chairman Başaran Bayrak stated: "We conveyed to the US side that Turkey-US trade is negatively affected by their protectionist laws. We face serious difficulties particularly in areas such as maritime trade. It is in the interest of both countries for the United States to change its protectionist laws in an appropriate way that will develop our trade. We visited the US Chamber of Commerce Vice President. Central Bank Representative Mustafa Ayçan also attended this meeting and discussions were held on developing cooperation opportunities, benefiting from mutual experience and conducting joint work in third countries. Consensus was reached on signing a mutual MOU good faith protocol in the coming days," he said. Noting that energy was also on the agenda during their visit, Turkey Exporters Council Deputy Chairman Başaran Bayrak said: "Discussions were held on how Turkey could cooperate with Israel on many issues, particularly natural gas, and how energy could reach Western markets more easily through Turkey. Turkey's role as an energy hub was mentioned and the possibility of developing cooperation with third countries in the Middle East was discussed. We conveyed that restrictions need to be lifted to reach the USD 100 billion trade target between the two countries, that the benefits provided to NAFTA countries particularly obstruct Turkey and that US FTAs with other countries negatively affect us. We emphasized that a joint FTA needs to be signed," he said. Turkey Exporters Council Brand Council Vice Chairman Süleyman Orakçıoğlu: We should focus on opportunities, not problems Stating that the Turkish delegation's visit was very productive and that very good dialogue had begun between the two sides, TİM Brand Council Vice Chairman Süleyman Orakçıoğlu said: "We view this visit as a positive beginning. We held numerous meetings and discussions within four days. The approaches were positive. We particularly agreed that much could be accomplished together regarding the progress demonstrated by commercial diplomacy," he said. TİM Brand Council Vice Chairman Süleyman Orakçıoğlu said: "Certainly there was intensive meeting traffic. The purpose of our meetings was to develop commercial diplomacy. We conducted various discussions with the US Chamber of Commerce. Later, we held a round table discussion on the USD 100 billion target at the Atlantic Council, a very important think tank. There are problems between the two countries but there are many more opportunities in addition to the problems. We forget about the opportunities by getting caught up in these problems. We should concentrate on the opportunities. The indicators also demonstrate this in an abstract way. Our exports to the United States showed a 44.1 percent increase in 2021. The United States is currently second in Turkey's export rankings after Germany. Turkey has become a hub in everything. With our experienced workforce, we have all the infrastructure to be the management center of the United States in this geography. Using this infrastructure could provide great benefits to both sides," he said.