Türkiye-US Trade Volume Target Set at $50 Billion

Accompanying President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is in New York for the 81st United Nations (UN) General Assembly, Bolat evaluated his contacts in the United States in an interview with an Anadolu Agency correspondent.

Stating that New York becomes the heart and center of world politics in September, Bolat said they held meetings with both his counterparts and American business and investment circles on issues such as the economy, finance, foreign trade, energy, industry and the environment.

Bolat explained that they participated in various business and investment events organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) Türkiye-US Business Council (TAİK), the Turkish American Business Association (TABA-AmCham), the Association of Anatolian Lions Businessmen (ASKON) and the Global Turks Foundation.

Regarding the issues discussed at these events, Bolat said, “We explained Türkiye’s achievements in the economy, investment and trade opportunities, and the incentive system implemented to attract foreign investments.”

“There is an acceleration in Turkish-American relations”

Pointing to an acceleration in Turkish-American economic relations, particularly over the past two years, Bolat said, “With an increase of more than 10 percent this year, it is quite possible that our total trade will reach 42-43 billion dollars. The data for the first eight months show this.”

Noting that approximately 2,300 American companies have invested in Türkiye, Bolat said these companies have an investment stock of 16.5 billion dollars, while the total capital they have brought to Türkiye over the decades has approached 60 billion dollars.

Bolat stated that companies operating in Türkiye also have investments worth approximately 14.5 billion dollars in the United States in order to benefit from trade and investment opportunities there.

Stating that Türkiye-US economic relations are at a high level not only in foreign trade but also in areas such as the defense industry, joint investments, reciprocal investments, energy, transportation and tourism, Bolat said the United States is one of Türkiye’s important foreign trade partners.

Bolat stated that the United States ranks second in Türkiye’s exports and fourth in its imports, adding that the US also ranks second in terms of investments coming to Türkiye.

“Our private sectors are working intensively toward the target”

Bolat said, “We are moving steadily toward the 100 billion dollar target set by our President and Mr. (US President Donald) Trump. We had said that it was possible to reach 43 billion dollars this year, and by the end of 2028, we will hopefully have reached 50 billion dollars.”

Stating that the private sectors of the two countries are working intensively toward this target, Bolat explained that the Ministry of Trade continues its activities to increase Türkiye’s exports through sectoral and general fairs, sectoral trade delegations, buyer delegations, general trade delegations and e-commerce initiatives.

Drawing attention to the continuous development and transformation of economies and sectors, Bolat noted that investments in the past had been concentrated mainly in manufacturing sectors, while energy, air transportation, services, supply, logistics, the digital economy and the social media economy have come to the fore over the past 10-15 years.

Bolat stated that President Erdoğan chaired the 19th Türkiye Investment Conference organized by TAİK and invited American companies to invest in Türkiye.

Bolat said that a significant portion of the participants in the conference operate in areas such as finance, air transportation, aviation, the digital sector, services, electronics and information technology, adding that these sectors offer investment opportunities for Türkiye.

Negotiations continue over US tariffs

Referring to the US tariff measures launched on April 2, 2025, Bolat recalled that different decisions had been taken throughout the process.

Bolat said, “There were customs duties annulled by the US Supreme Court. Additional customs duties were reintroduced through another mechanism. Apart from this, due to national security reasons, additional quotas or additional customs duties ranging from 25 percent to as high as 50 percent were imposed on some sectors. We are discussing these issues.”

Stating that they have discussed the matter with US officials, Bolat said:

“Türkiye is a country that runs a trade deficit with the United States. In other words, Türkiye is not a country that has a large trade surplus in its trade with the US. The main target of the US in this protectionism is countries with which it has large deficits. In this regard, we are continuing our negotiations mutually, taking into account the situation and trade of our sectors as well as our overall economic interests.”

“We will voice our country’s arguments at the G20”

Referring to the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting to be held next week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Bolat explained that the agenda of the meeting is determined by the host country.

Bolat stated that the agenda items determined in line with developments in the global environment would be discussed at the meeting, saying, “We will be the voice of our country there, and we will voice our country’s arguments.”

Bolat added that G20 meetings also provide an opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with trade ministers from other countries, and said that the parties’ respective agendas are mutually evaluated during these meetings.