UK And Türkiye To Negotiate New FTA

The UK and Türkiye have today announced their intention to start talks on a new free trade agreement. This follows a call between UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Turkish Minister for Trade Ömer Bolat on 11 July 2023.

The “new, modernised FTA” is aimed at replacing the existing agreement which the Department of Business and Trade describes as an outdated deal which only covers goods. It is described as “an opportunity to strike a 21st century deal that is better suited to the modern economies of both the UK and Türkiye”.

In a statement, DBT says “The deal would replace the existing UK-Türkiye 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 UK is the second biggest services exporter in the world (£493bn), behind only the USA, and Türkiye is ranked 21st (£90bn). Bilateral trade between the UK and Türkiye reached £23.5bn in 2022, an increase of more than 30% from 2021.

The UK-Türkiye Joint Committee, consisting of the UK’s Chief Negotiator and officials from both sides, have been responsible for overseeing the implementation of the current agreement. They will meet today (18 July) in Ankara, Türkiye’s capital city, to formally conclude the review of the current agreement and move towards renegotiation of the Free Trade Agreement. Later this month, Minister for Exports Lord Offord will visit Türkiye to meet businesses and stakeholders and discuss investment and export opportunities.

The UK government is expected to launch a call for input from businesses, organisations and individuals to help shape the UK’s negotiating aims ahead of the talks. Following this consultation, the government expects to start renegotiations next year. The Exporter will bring you notice of the call for input as we receive it.

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