Over a video conference this week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Britain’s trade ministry confirmed that Turkey and the United Kingdom (UK) are set to sign a free trade deal once the UK officially leaves the European Union (EU) single market on December 31.
The new deal will replicate the terms and framework of the existing trade deal between the two, which has a customs union agreement with both Brussels and London. According to the Department for International Trade, bilateral trade between the countries was worth nearly £19 billion last year.
British trade minister Liz Truss said: “The deal we expect to sign this week locks in tariff-free trading arrangements and will help support our trading relationship. It will provide certainty for thousands of jobs across the UK in the manufacturing, automotive and steel industries.” She further added that, “we now look forward to working with Turkey towards an ambitious tailor-made UK-Turkey trade agreement in the near future.”
Until 2019, Turkey and Ankara’s trading relationship was worth £18.6 billion, and the UK became Turkey’s second-biggest export market, after Germany. Turkey’s main items of export items to the UK have been gold, artificial textile articles, garments, electrical and non-electrical machinery, motor vehicles and parts, iron and steel products, insulated wires, cables, and other electric conductors. Meanwhile, the main export items from the UK to Turkey have been diesel and semi-diesel engines, automobiles, tramp iron/steel and their ingots, medicinal and pharmaceutical products to be used in treatments, and protection.
Adding to the already existing trade relationship, the UK official said that the new deal would make it easier for Britain to take a “pragmatic” approach with Turkey, stating that an upgraded free trade deal would be “win-win” for both countries.
Given the recent political tensions between Turkey and many European countries, especially France, the EU and Ankara trade relationship had stalled. In this light, the prospective deal is expected to bolster Turkey’s slumping economy, which has been hard-hit by the depleting Lira rates and diminishing foreign direct investments (FDI).
The latest announcement is in line with the UK’s push to expedite the signing of trade agreements with multiple countries before the expiration of the Brexit deadline. In fact, since the Brexit announcement two years ago, Britain has signed trade agreements with 62 other countries. In fact, prior to the deal with Turkey, on Christmas Day, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a much-awaited trade deal with the EU, its biggest trading partner, after ten months of intense negotiations.
UK to Sign Free Trade Deal With Turkey After Brexit Deadline
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said that a free trade deal with London would be signed on Tuesday after the UK formally leaves the European Union.
December 30, 2020
Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan SOURCE: FINANCIAL TIMES