Trade between Turkey and USA
The history of trade between the United States and Turkey has been very strong. The two
nations have been under a general trade and tariff agreement since 1985 and trading levels
between the two have increased significantly since then.
After a trade decline in 2001, the bilateral trade flow has consistently increased. In 2001, the
bilateral flow value was $6.16 billion USD. In 2006, this amount had increased to $11.1 billion
USD, which was also a raise of 17% from the year before. This has made the U.S., according to
the CIA World Fact Book in 2007, the fourth largest country Turkey exports to, accounting for
5.9% of all Turkish exports. They trail Germany (11.4%), UK (8.0%) and Italy (7.9%), but are the
largest importers of Turkish goods outside the EU.
A large reason for these impressive trade statistics is because the United States has included
Turkey as a country that can benefit from its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)
program. This program is designed to promote economic growth that provides duty-free entry
for more than 4,650 products from 143 designated beneficiary countries and territories. Of
these products under GSP; leather, jewelry, and automotive parts all qualify for these duty-free
benefits. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, jewelry and auto parts are also
among the top imports under the GSP program accounting for 17.2% and 7.7% of the $26
trillion total imports the United States sees under GSP, respectively.
There have been good and bad times between the countries in the past, but these have only
moderately affected trade. According to the Turkish Embassy, the United States has always
been a major trading partner to Turkey. As described in the Turkey-U.S. Economic Partnership
Commission Action Plan as recently as May 25, 2007, delegates from both countries have
agreed to work together to remove bilateral trade barriers and expand U.S.-Turkish trade and
investment.
The relationship going into the future between the two countries is perfectly described in a
statement by U.S. Officials saying, “It is a relationship characterized by strong bonds of
friendship, alliance, mutual trust and unity of vision.”