US commerce official sees promising future for US-Türkiye trade ties

By Dilara Zengin

WASHINGTON (AA) — The US assistant secretary of commerce for global markets expressed optimism about the potential for significant growth in trade between the US and Türkiye, highlighting the importance of the "deep strategic partnership" between the two countries.

"I think we are at a unique turning point in history. We have such a deep strategic partnership," Arun Venkataraman said, sharing his assessment of Türkiye-US trade relations with Anadolu.

Underlining the decades-long presence of many American companies in Türkiye, Venkataraman said the country was on a "great trajectory," with a "real opportunity for the US-Turkish business to grow exponentially."

On the goal to achieve $100 billion trade volume between the US and Türkiye, he said this is attainable "given the depth of commercial relationships, given the entrepreneurship that exists in both countries."

Venkataraman also stressed that both Ankara and Washington needed to work towards this goal. "We have to set the right policies in place to make sure that we can encourage trade between our peoples."

An annual US trade conference called Trade Winds is scheduled to take place in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul in May, he said, adding that the US trade delegation would be the largest yet attending the conference.

At the conference, "... We hope to really be able to expand US-Turkish business ties with concrete connections between companies and we think that's a good first step towards attaining that goal," said Venkataraman.

According to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Türkiye's exports to the US reached $16.9 billion last year, while imports from that country amounted to $15.2 billion.

This resulted in a trade volume of over $32 billion between the two nations, surpassing the approximately $28 billion recorded in 2021.

Chemicals were the leading category in Türkiye's exports to the US, followed by automotive, steel, and the ready-to-wear clothing industry.