11.04.2025 12:11
The Minister of Trade, Ömer Bolat, stated that discussions will be held with the United States following President Donald Trump's tariff decisions. Bolat mentioned that they are examining the effects of the United States' new foreign trade policy and the additional customs duties it is imposing on Turkey's foreign trade, and that an official letter will be sent to the U.S.
The Minister of Trade, Ömer Bolat, stated that discussions will be held with the USA following President Donald Trump's tariff decisions, saying, "We are in a busy working tempo regarding these issues and we have formed a working group. There are participants from our other ministries as well, and this working group will hold an important meeting today in Ankara."
"ADDITIONAL CUSTOMS DUTIES CAUSED A DECLINE IN GLOBAL MARKETS"
Bolat evaluated the recent intensification of trade diplomacy and inter-country relations. Reminding that President Trump promised to pursue an inward-looking program in his economic and foreign trade policy, Bolat stated that Trump announced additional customs duty increases targeting neighboring countries with high trade deficits like Mexico and Canada, as well as major economies like the European Union (EU) and China, immediately after taking office.
Bolat recalled that in response to the additional customs duty increases, China and some countries made "retaliation" statements, explaining that the USA's announcement of a general customs duty increase on April 2 caused declines in global markets.
"A VERY ACTIVE PERIOD"
Pointing out that there has been a significant decline in global commodity markets, especially in oil, Bolat said: "It is a very active period. We will not panic; we will act calmly. We are in a busy working tempo regarding these issues and we have formed a working group. There are participants from our other ministries as well. Today (April 11), this working group will hold an important meeting in Ankara. We are studying the effects of the USA's new foreign trade policy and the additional customs duties it is imposing on Turkey's foreign trade, both bilaterally with the USA and multilaterally in other markets, in terms of products, sectors, and total trade."
"I AM SENDING AN OFFICIAL LETTER"
Bolat expressed that they are ready to take necessary actions on this matter, stating, "We have had contacts at the level of the Deputy Secretary of Commerce of the USA and deputy ministers. I am sending an official letter to the US Secretary of Commerce regarding this matter, and we want negotiations. The US side has already stated that they are 'open to negotiations with countries' regarding these new policies."
Highlighting Turkey's foreign trade volume with the USA, Bolat made the following assessment: "They have direct investments in Turkey of about 15.5 billion dollars, while our direct investments in the USA are around 11 billion dollars. About 1.3 million American tourists come to Turkey. Our first duty is to ensure that Turkey-US economic relations continue without being harmed during this new process. Our second duty is to increase Turkey-US economic relations to higher figures during this process. The situation is chaotic. Developments can be different in the morning and evening. Therefore, we need to be vigilant, alert, but not panic, be prepared, continuously analyze the effects of changing decisions on products and sectors, and keep negotiations alive and ongoing in official meetings in a way that will benefit both sides; this is what we are currently doing."
JAPAN VISIT EXPECTED TO CREATE NEW INVESTMENT AND TRADE OPPORTUNITIES
Bolat pointed out that Japan is one of the leading countries in world trade and economy, stating that the preparations for EXPO 2025 Osaka have been completed and the event will start on April 13. Emphasizing that they will represent Turkey there, Bolat said, "You know our national day is April 23, National Sovereignty and Children's Day, and in this context, cultural, artistic, trade, and tourism activities will be held. We will also have meetings and business investment forum meetings with Japanese government officials, business representatives, and employer organizations in Tokyo for one day."
Bolat emphasized the great importance of Japan for Turkey, saying: "Japan has significant investments in Turkey, around 3 billion dollars. We hope for much more. As of last year, we have a trade volume of 5.4 billion dollars. We are in discussions with the Japanese government and relevant ministries to make this trade more balanced and efficient for both countries, and we are continuing negotiations. We are striving to ensure that the EXPO and the official program we will hold in Japan create new investment and trade opportunities for both countries, especially for our country."
"WE ARE PLEASED TO CONTRIBUTE TO OECD'S WORK"
Regarding the memorandum of understanding they signed yesterday concerning the continuation of the activities of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) center in Istanbul, Bolat recalled that Turkey is a founding member of the organization. Bolat stated that especially in recent years, OECD has aimed to be a platform that increases cooperation and solidarity not only for "the club of rich countries" but also for southern, eastern, and newly developing countries, and emerging market countries, and has initiated an opening towards the south and east in its goals and working system. Minister Bolat expressed that they welcomed this positively, stating that Turkey, with the instruction of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has aimed for the OECD to have a regional center in Istanbul and that they have contributed to the activities of this center established in 2021. Bolat provided information that the cooperation protocol they signed with OECD has been extended for three more years, saying, "We are pleased to contribute to this understanding of OECD in the new period and to the continuation of more inclusive works. We are increasing our cooperation efforts."