The possibility of trade talks with Türkiye was raised by the previous Government in July 2023 and, following a consultation period, discussions between the two sides opened in March 2024.
While these failed to progress, Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has now announced that the first round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with Türkiye will take place by the end of July 2025.
He highlighted that the UK and Türkiye have a strong economic relationship, with trade between the two totalling around £28 billion in 2024, making Türkiye the UK’s 16th largest trading partner. UK companies already export £9.3 billion of goods and services to its growing market of 86 million people.
The Government has affirmed the importance and strength of the UK-Türkiye trading bilateral relationship and committed to continue to pursue closer co-operation and increased trade and investment, underlining the importance of defending free trade.
Mr Reynolds concluded the meeting by signing an upgraded Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) chapter, in the form of an amendment to the 2020 UK-Türkiye FTA. This chapter closely aligns UK-Türkiye TBT provisions with those found in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), aiming to reduce costs and make it easier for businesses to trade.
