Turkey, UK sign Free Trade Agreement

Turkey and the UK on Tuesday signed a historic free trade agreement, set to go into effect New Year’s Day, this Friday, Jan 1.

“This is a historic day for Turkish-UK relations,” Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said in a speech to the virtual signing ceremony based in the Turkish capital Ankara, Anadolu Agency reported.

The landmark deal will ensure stronger trade between Turkey and the UK in the days to come, Pekcan underlined, adding that it leaves no uncertainty in the trade structure between the two countries.

“We are taking the first step towards further deepening our ties, while maintaining 25-year gains from the Customs Union,” said Pekcan, referring to Turkey’s 1995 Customs Union with the EU, which Britain is making its final exit from this week.

“With the new deal, Turkey and the UK are pleased to meet businesspeople’s expectations and to keep our promises,” she added.

Absent a deal, about 75 per cent of Turkish exports to UK would be subject to tariffs, causing losses of some US$2.4 billion, but the deal eliminates this risk, said Pekcan.

“We reached a tariff-free agreement, as planned, which includes all industrial and agricultural goods,” she said.

Stating that the trade volume between the two countries hit US$15.1 billion in January-November, Pekcan said in 2019, Turkey’s exports to the UK – its second-largest export market – stood at US$11.3 billion, while imports totaled US$5.6 billion.

The UK’s investments in Turkey are around US$11.6 billion, Pekcan said.

“I hope the deal will be reflected positively in bilateral investments,” she underlined.

Pekcan also said Turkey is eager to expand the pact in areas such as investments and services.

“We will discuss how we can improve the conditions for entering the agricultural market as well,” she added.

For her part, British Trade Minister Liz Truss said the pact lays the groundwork for a more ambitious UK -Turkey trade relationship in the days to come.

“The agreement is part of our plan to put the UK at the centre of a network of modern agreements with dynamic economies,” she noted, saying there is greater trade potential in the areas of finance and biotechnology.

“In this sense, I believe that as two trading countries, from products, vehicles to other sectors, we can gain great momentum in the field of services and technology trade much faster.”

She also said Britons will be able buy high-quality products, including white goods, manufactured in Turkey.

“Apart from this, it will also make a great contribution to the consumers to buy decent products at decent prices in agricultural products.”

Truss said that in the last two years, in the countdown to Brexit, the UK reached agreements with 62 countries – and the European Union – to cover £885 billion (US$1.20 trillion) of UK trade.

In a statement following the signing, the UK government said the deal covers trade worth more than £18 billion (US$24.3 billion).

Vital UK-Turkey supply chains will also be protected for automotive manufacturers, such as Ford, which employs 7,500 people in the UK, it noted.

source:bernama.com