Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

“TOBB-U.S. Chamber of Commerce Memorandum of Understanding” signing ceremony and working dinner were held in TOBB within the scope of Ankara contacts of Myron Brilliant, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who came to Turkey at the invitation of Hisarcıklıoğlu.

In addition to Hisarcıklıoğlu and Brilliant, US Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry Flake and Deputy Trade Minister Mustafa Tuzcu attended the ceremony.

Speaking here, Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that while the Covid-19 pandemic’s difficulties for economies, breaks in value chains, an increase in raw material prices and security of supply, as well as the prospects of the Ukraine-Russia war.

“First of all, I want to emphasize one thing strongly. We consider Russia's attack on Ukrainian territory unacceptable. We support Ukraine's sovereignty, political unity and territorial integrity. Russia and Ukraine are our close neighbors,” he said.

Stating that Russia is one of Turkey's leading trading partners, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the negative impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis next door should be carefully monitored.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that there are three dimensions of Turkey-U.S. relations: military, political and economic, “We, as the business world, always want priority to be given to approaches that will promote the commercial aspect of our relations. Because we know that the way to prosperity, peace and security is through trade. We think that the 100 billion trade target is realistic and compatible with the production potential of our countries.”

Pointing out that TOBB and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have been working together for years to increase trade and create a more favorable investment and business climate, Hisarcıklıoğlu continued:

“We must increase Turkey-U.S. trade to a level worthy of two allied countries. I want to reiterate. Turkish and U.S. business will be able to achieve the $100 billion trade target. We believe this goal is realistic. There are serious opportunities for US investors in Turkey. Our country is also an attractive production center for the surrounding countries in terms of its location and human resources. At this point, I invite US investors to consider Turkey as an investment and trading base. We want to expand our cooperation with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in these areas as we have done so far.”

- “Cooperation in health, energy and IT will be emphasized”

Hisarcıklıoğlu also stated that he has expectations from politicians on this issue and said: “A free trade agreement or similar preferential trade agreement should be signed between Turkey and the United States. Turkey should be exempt from Section 232. Because the Turkish business community suffers significantly from this. We ask for support in resolving this issue which negatively affects our bilateral trade as soon as possible. Turkey is extremely successful in the contracting sector. Turkish and U.S. companies have also signed joint projects in third countries. Within this framework, the U.S. contracting market should also be opened to Turkish companies.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that with the memorandum of understanding signed, they will also have agreed on the areas of cooperation for 2022, and said that they will focus on cooperation in health, energy, information technologies, digital economy, tourism and infrastructure.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that TOBB and the American Chamber of Commerce will strengthen cooperation in third countries in 2022, adding: “We plan to make the Turkish Trade Center, which is especially active in Chicago, carry out logistics operations in the future. So far, 50 companies have started to benefit from this center. Thus, we will be able to provide door-to-door service when Turkish companies enter the American market. We're also going to make logistics operations of American companies cheaper. We plan to expand our logistics network throughout the U.S. to 5-6 states with the support of the Ministry of Commerce.”

- “Our vision is to consolidate the position of production and trade base”

Deputy Minister of Commerce Tuzcu underlined that Turkey is one of the most important destinations attracting global investments and said that the country stood apart from the competition during the pandemic with its macroeconomic data. Reminding that Turkey has risen to 33^rd place among 190 countries in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index by 2021, Tuzcu pointed to the growth and export figures obtained over the last two years. “In light of these positive developments, the long-term vision of the Turkish economy is to complete the digital and green transformation, to consolidate its position as a highly competitive, logistics and legal infrastructure strong production and trade base,” Tuzcu said.

Tuzcu stated that they appreciate and welcome US companies’ investments in Turkey and the year-over-year increase of these investments, “‎Investment and trade relations between Turkey and the United States have recently come a long way despite the pandemic and other conditions.‎ In the achieving these distances, 2,000 U.S. companies have made a significant contribution, making the United States the second-largest investment country in our country with $14 billion, and these investments show their confidence in Turkey and its economy. Considering that the United States has $8 trillion in direct investment in the world, we think that much more investment can come from the United States in the current advanced investment environment in Turkey, this potential is much greater.”

Tuzcu explained that the United States is also a very important destination for Turkish investors and that Turkish companies have $8.3 billion in investments in this country, adding that the United States is the second most invested destination of Turkish companies. “It is safe to say that the mutual trust felt by investors in both countries has an important role in the development of trade and economic relations between our countries, and that the greatest contribution to the strategic structure of our relations will come from trade and economic relations,” Tuzcu said.

- “Steel taxes should be abolished”

Tuzcu stated that the trade volume of the two countries reached 31.4 billion dollars last year, and that with this level, the United States became the second country after Germany where Turkey reached the highest trade volume. Tuzcu also stated that they are in talks with the U.S. administration to further develop trade and economic relations, “The exemption from steel and aluminum taxes in Section 232 is our important expectation from the U.S. administration. In this expectation, we anticipate that we will have the support of the American private sector. At this point, we have previously stated that the good dialogue established between Japan, Korea, the EU, many countries and the United States can also be established with Turkey and we expect their contributions in this regard.”

Tuzcu stressed that they think digital and green transformation issues will be important topics for cooperation and said they are ready to work closely with them.

Noting that companies including many American companies have experienced serious negative effects in the global supply chain, especially at the point of production and manufacturing, especially in Asia, Tuzcu said, “In this context, I would like to state that Turkey can be an alternative to the Asia-based production network in terms of repositioning investments and has serious potential and advantages for U.S. investors who are looking for this alternative. I would like to state that we expect the American private sector to increase cooperation with our companies considering advantages.”

- U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry Flake

U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry Flake thanked the Turkish government and people for seeking diplomatic solutions to the Russia-Ukraine war, saying they had come together “in the shadow of an inhumane attack” by the Kremlin.

“Russia, of course, will pay a great price economically, politically and diplomatically for this invasion. The international community is much stronger and more collaborative than ever,” he said.

In the short term, there will be some trade cuts, but as partners and allies, they need to increase trade and trade ties, Flake said, “‎About 1,100 American companies were doing business in Russia. ‎Some of them are leaving now. Others said they would shift some of their operations to Turkey. I think American companies should think about the Turkish market.”

Flake pointed out that this could be an opportunity for Turkey to attract more foreign investors, “One of the most important conditions for attracting and keeping foreign investment is that the business environment is stable and sustainable. We hope that with this cooperation between TOBB and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, we can achieve this goal.”

- “Turkey's exports to the United States increased by 45% during the epidemic”

Noting that the volume of US-Turkey bilateral trade reached $28 billion last year, Flake said, “This means a 30 percent increase in one year. Of course, Turkey's exports to the United States are a contribution to this. That's very impressive. During the pandemic, Turkey's exports to the United States increased by 45 percent.”

Flake stated that more than 1900 American companies are active in Turkey and have invested $20 billion, “‎Therefore, there is sufficient ground for the strengthening and development of our bilateral economic relations.‎ I always tell American companies that Turkey is a market they should think about for their products, services and investments.”

Flake stated that relations between states can be improved, pointing out that American companies have positive views about the Turkish economy when it comes to investing in Turkey in the long term.

- “We cannot be if we don’t stand together in the international system we live in”

Brilliant, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and TOBB have a very robust and historic relationship.

“I think both organizations are not only improving the lives of people in both countries, but also playing a very important role here and improving US-Turkey relations, considering the role Turkey and the United States play in global relations,” Brilliant said, noting that they have met with TOBB many times on different platforms.

Brilliant emphasized that the Russia-Ukraine war affected all citizens as well as the great difficulties created by the Covid-19 pandemic, and said that long-standing companies and US chambers in Ukraine had to leave. “That's why we can't be strong if we don’t stand together in the international system we've been living in since the end of the Second World War,” Brilliant said.

Stating that Turkey can attract investments and trade, Brilliant expressed appreciation for the assistance of the Turkish government and the private sector in dealing with the humanitarian crisis.

- A new opportunity for US-Turkey relations

“We need to be aware of the current situation and really focus more on this partnership. In my opinion, this shows an opportunity that has not arisen in terms of US-Turkey relations before. I have to say that this situation presents an opportunity for both the United States and Turkey.”

“We have increased the trade volume to $32 billion in 2021, which shows how important the United States and Turkey are to each other,” Brilliant said, noting that they should consider how high-level trade dialogues can be strengthened.

- Emphasis on common strategic mechanism

Pointing to the existence of greater potential, Brilliant said, “I think that having a new US-Turkey common strategic mechanism and having a trade component in it will further strengthen this improvement. Both economic and commercial dialogue needs to be improved. Perhaps with the establishment of such a mechanism at the level of ministries, important work can be carried out.”

Brilliant explained that they should work on a free trade agreement, digital trade, energy and renewable energy, and an energy model that can enable Turkey to find new sources of gas, and noted that the United States can be a reliable supplier in this sense.

Brilliant said that policymakers in the United States also care deeply about this issue, adding that “reducing dependence on China and Russia will improve relations between the United States and Turkey. Stronger supply chains, diversification of energy, and the use of LNG from the United States will, in my opinion, allow Turkey to participate more in the global value chain.”

Stating that it would be important for Turkey to participate in a digital agreement in Europe and the Pacific, Brilliant said that the principles of carrying out cross-border data transfer will also be an important part of the dialogues of the two countries.

- “Businesswomen's Council can be created”

Brilliant stated that ensuring women's participation in the workforce will also be important for promoting economic prosperity, “TOBB and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should think in this sense, 'How can we contribute to the success developing in Turkey'. I think maybe a Businesswomen's Council can be created with the U.S. State Department,” she said.

Underlining that they are in Turkey because consider this an opportunity for change, Brilliant concluded, “We have been investing in this country for a very long time and we will continue to invest for a very long time.”

After the speeches, the TOBB-U.S. Chamber of Commerce Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Hisarcıklıoğlu and Brilliant.

(A.A.)