UK & Turkiye initiate talks on upgraded free trade agreement

18 Jul '23

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Insights

UK and Turkiye are set to renegotiate their FTA, aiming to include services, digital, and data sectors currently not covered.
This follows a commitment made by trade ministers Kemi Badenoch and Ömer Bolat to deepen bilateral trade, which saw a 30 per cent increase in 2022, reaching £23.5 billion.
The revised FTA could lead to cheaper goods for UK consumers.

The UK and Turkiye have today announced plans to begin talks on an updated free trade agreement (FTA). The deal would replace the existing UK-Turkiye FTA, which was rolled over from when the UK left the European Union and doesn’t cover key areas of the UK economy like services, digital and data.

The announcement follows a call between UK business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch and Turkish minister for trade Ömer Bolat last week, where they committed to negotiating a new deal and deepening the trade relationship between the two countries, the UK government said in a statement.

The UK-Turkiye Joint Committee consisting of the UK’s chief negotiator and officials from both sides – responsible for overseeing implementation of the current agreement – will meet today in Ankara, Turkiye’s capital city to formally conclude the review of the current agreement and move towards renegotiation of the Free Trade Agreement.

Badenoch said: “The new FTA is an opportunity to strike a 21st century deal that is better suited to the modern economies of both the UK and Turkiye, covering areas such as digital trade and services. It would build on an already thriving trading relationship which reached £23.5 billion in 2022 – up more than 30 per cent from the previous year – and better support UK businesses exporting or looking to export to the country. A new FTA could also potentially lead to cheaper goods and more choice for UK consumers.”

Later this month, minister for exports Lord Offord will be visiting Turkiye where he will meet businesses and stakeholders to discuss with investment and export opportunities.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)

More Textiles News - United Kingdom...