Türkiye, UK push to expand trade deal to services, investment, digital sectors

ANKARA

Türkiye and the UK are moving to expand their post-Brexit free trade agreement to cover services, investments, agricultural concessions, and digital trade, officials and business leaders said Friday.

The effort aims to build on the existing Türkiye-UK Free Trade Agreement and respond to growing commercial ties, especially in high-value sectors.

The UK-Türkiye Business Forum in London, attended by Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat, discussed the importance of the upgrade.

The first round of negotiations on the new deal is expected to be completed by the end of July.

Speaking to Anadolu, Osman Okyay, chairperson of the DEIK Türkiye-UK Business Council, said Türkiye’s exports to the UK increased 11% year-on-year in 2024.

He described the relationship as having entered “a new phase” in both scale and complexity since Brexit.

“Our exports now go beyond products to include systems and solutions,” he said, noting deeper cooperation in defense, R&D, engineering, digitalization, and green transformation.

“This is no longer a simple trade relationship,” he added. “It’s becoming strategic — combining Türkiye’s supply chain strengths with the UK’s need for reliable, adaptable partners.”

Panels at the London forum focused on sectors including artificial intelligence, digital technologies, green transition, construction, health, finance, and education.

Okyay said the current FTA helped maintain economic ties after Brexit but now falls short. “It only covers trade in goods,” he said. “We’ve reached its limits.”

He stressed the need to include “more high-value-added sectors” and said talks in 2023 showed mutual willingness to proceed.

The four focus areas for the upgrade — services, investments, agricultural concessions, and digital trade — represent “the most urgent and high-impact” fields, Okyay said.

He highlighted Türkiye’s strengths in engineering, tourism, and software — areas currently excluded from the deal — and called for updated rules on artificial intelligence, data transfer, and electronic contracts.

“These affect every sector, especially tech,” he said. “Türkiye wants to help shape the rules that govern this space.”

The UK-Türkiye Business Forum was organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Türkiye-UK Business Council and included bilateral talks between Bolat and British Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, as well as meetings between private sector delegations.