Trade Minister Ömer Bolat spoke at TİM‘s March 2025 Foreign Trade Figures press statement. Referring to the new tariffs announced by the US, Bolat said: “We will discuss the additional tariffs applied to Türkiye during our visit to the US in mid-May, as the Trump administration has indicated they are open to negotiations. We also believe that the next year will be a particularly turbulent period regarding the additional tariffs announced for other countries. We have decided to accelerate our efforts to increase mutual trade and exports with the US, which ranks second in our exports, working tirelessly with TİM, DEİK, and other business teams, especially the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye.”
Bolat stated that they have made preparations on this issue: “Which sectors will be affected? In which sectors do we have a competitive advantage? These studies are ready, and we have the files. We will implement these together with the sectors. But I also want to express that we will strive to turn this new period into an advantageous situation, and at the same time, we will take measures against other countries challenging us in our export markets and the Turkish market. We will plan all these together with our business community and exporters.”
“We need to strengthen our competitiveness first”
TİM President Mustafa Gültepe, who also spoke at the press statement, first addressed the US tariffs. Gültepe reminded that Türkiye is among the countries with the lowest tariff rate of 10% and made the following statement:
“When we look at the countries in Asia that are our competitors, we can see this situation as an advantage. But we need to strengthen our competitiveness first. The US is one of our most important trade partners. It is our second-largest market in exports; in 2024, we achieved $16.3 billion in exports and $16.2 billion in imports, showing a balance in our $32.5 billion foreign trade. In the new period, we have started sector-based studies to turn this balance in our favor. For the 2028 export target of $375 billion, we need to increase our share in the US market. We have the potential to do this. Of course, I want to emphasize once again that we need to be competitive. If we regain our competitive strength, I believe we can make a significant leap in exports to the US.”