Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Türkiye-US Greentech Tech Delegation Working Dinner was hosted by TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu with the participation of Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu, Senior Advisor to the US Presidential Special Envoy for Climate, Ambassador David Thorne and Senior Vice President of the US Chamber of Commerce Marty Durbin at TOBB Twin Towers.

In his speech, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that as the umbrella organization of the Turkish business world, they prioritize Türkiye-US relations. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We think that Türkiye-US relations have three dimensions, military-political and economic. We are happy that the economic pillar of our relations is getting stronger. Economic relations will also provide serious support to the Turkish-US military and political partnership. We are focused on improving our commercial relations and providing a better investment and business environment. Investments have become an important dimension of our economic relations.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the US is the number one destination for Turkish investments abroad and that Turkish companies have invested 9.7 billion dollars in the US.

Pointing out the importance of mutual investment potential, Hisarcıklıoğlu continued as follows:

“We invite US investors to invest more in Türkiye. We opened a trade center in Chicago to help bilateral investment and trade. Bilateral trade volume reached a record high of 33 billion dollars in 2023 and the upward trend continues. Türkiye and the US have set a target to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion, and this target is achievable. The production capacity of the Turkish economy and Türkiye's investment environment will help us reach this goal. We have many opportunities for trade and investment. Türkiye has the largest industrial production volume between Italy and China. We are the main supplier of automotive, white goods, construction materials and apparel to Europe.”

- Trade should be more liberal

Stating that Türkiye is among the top 5 most visited countries in the world in tourism, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that 42 of the world's leading 250 companies in global contracting services are Turkish companies.

Underlining that trade between the two countries should be more liberal, Hisarcıklıoğlu said:

“A free trade agreement or a preferential trade agreement would pave the way for mutual trade. Türkiye was excluded from the US generalized system of preferences for different reasons. We should look for ways to reintegrate Türkiye into this system. Another issue is Section 232. Türkiye's share of US steel imports fell in 2017-2022 due to these measures. We need your support to convince the US administration to keep Türkiye out of the Section 232 measures. Another issue is sanctions on Turkish products. We need to move past these issues and focus on more trade and investment. We can add new products and sectors to our partnership. The green technology mission will be an important step in this direction. Green and digital transformation will be the engine of healthy and sustainable economic growth.”

- Deputy Trade Minister Mustafa Tuzcu

Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu stated that Türkiye has serious potential in terms of green economy and said, “We see that green is our future, we should cooperate more in this field.”

At the Türkiye-US GreenTech Delegation working meeting held at the Twin Towers of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), Tuzcu said that Türkiye has good relations with the US. Stating that a green technology-oriented mission will be a turning point for the advancement of relations, Tuzcu said, “We want to further advance economic relations with the US.”

Mustafa Tuzcu said that the taxes imposed on steel from Türkiye in the US should be abolished and that Türkiye does not want to be part of the US problem on steel. Stating that this issue does not reflect the friendship and cooperation of the two countries, Tuzcu emphasized that Türkiye wants its status on the generalized system of preferences back. Pointing out that Türkiye has serious potential in terms of green economy, Tuzcu said: “There is a serious desire to implement the green consensus initiative. A new Climate Law is being prepared in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. We see that green is our future. This will also be supplemented by digital transformation. Cooperation is very important here. There are already some companies working together. Türkiye's renewable energy capacity has recently become 53 percent of our total capacity. We should cooperate more in this area. Climate change is an international problem and our work must be international. Our cooperation will set an important example.”

At the Türkiye-US GreenTech Delegation working meeting held at the Twin Towers of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), Tuzcu said that Türkiye has good relations with the US. Stating that a green technology-oriented mission will be a turning point for the advancement of relations, Tuzcu said, “We want to further advance economic relations with the US.”

Mustafa Tuzcu said that the taxes imposed on steel from Türkiye in the US should be abolished and that Türkiye does not want to be part of the US problem on steel. Stating that this issue does not reflect the friendship and cooperation of the two countries, Tuzcu emphasized that Türkiye wants its status on the generalized system of preferences back. Pointing out that Türkiye has serious potential in terms of green economy, Tuzcu said: “There is a serious desire to implement the green consensus initiative. A new Climate Law is being prepared in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. We see that green is our future. This will also be supplemented by digital transformation. Cooperation is very important here. There are already some companies working together. Türkiye's renewable energy capacity has recently become 53 percent of our total capacity. We should cooperate more in this area. Climate change is an international problem and our work must be international. Our cooperation will set an important example.”

- Marty Durbin, Senior Vice President of the US Chamber of Commerce

Marty Durbin, Senior Vice President of the US Chamber of Commerce, stated that the Chamber has set ambitious goals between Türkiye and the US on green transformation, emission reduction and climate change.

Pointing out that the private sector is an important partner in such efforts, Durbin said, “The business world will also provide climate solutions. As the private sector, we can accelerate the green transformation and the energy transition while at the same time strengthening energy security. If we work together, it is possible to achieve both.”