American firms showing more interest in investing in Türkiye: Turkish trade minister

NEW YORK

With Turkish-US relations gaining momentum, more large American firms are showing interest in investing in Türkiye, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat told Anadolu.

Bolat, who is attending the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said a roundtable meeting with American and Turkish business representatives organized by the Türkiye-US Business Council (TAIK) under the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEIK) had more participants compared with previous sessions.

Bolat said President Erdogan invited businesspeople from the US to directly invest in Türkiye and expressed his desire to improve Türkiye-US relations.

American investors, firms focus on Turkish economy’s success

Bolat said the successful macroeconomic results of the Medium-Term Program — a framework aimed at strengthening financial stability — are being focused on by American investors and firms.

“Major American companies said they are interested in expanding their investments in Türkiye and further boosting trade and business with our nation, as they are also aware of investments in Türkiye from East Asia, deeming Türkiye a supply and logistics base,” he said.

He noted that the US has become the second largest market for Turkish exports and fifth for imports as relations between the two countries gain momentum.

‘We hope to boost Turkish exports to US in coming period’

Bolat said trade relations between Türkiye and the US gained momentum following the coronavirus pandemic and the bilateral trade volume between the two countries reached $33 billion last year, while it is expected to reach over $35 billion in 2024.

He noted that the significant increase in Turkish exports to the US shows a favorable trade balance for Türkiye this year.

With the rate cut cycle beginning in the US and Europe, Bolat said in the case of an acceleration of rate cuts, global growth and increasing trade are expected, enabling Türkiye to gain tempo for exports.

“Then it will be possible to reach $40 billion, then maybe $50 billion in mutual trade, on the path to $100 billion in the long run,” he said.

He noted that the increasing measures by the US and Europe against Chinese imports can open the doors for new market opportunities for Türkiye, as the nation connecting Europe to Asia can export products to European and US markets in a shorter period of time.

“We hope to boost our exports to the US in the coming period,” he added.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul