The Brexit vote in 2016 meant that the time would soon come for the UK to negotiate new trade deals with both their European & Global counterparts, and after months of negotiation it’s looking likely that Turkey & the UK have come to an agreement. It’s an important step forward given that the UK is Turkey’s second biggest market with a volume of £18.8 billion, and a plethora of companies operating within Turkey such as BP, Vodafone, Unilever & Aviva.
Mevlut Cavusoglu is the Turkey Foreign Minister and during a meeting on the 8th of July with both Boris Johnson & Dominic Raab, it was agreed that both countries would continue to co-operate in many fields including the FTA (free trade agreement), tourism, health, the defense industry, NATO and other significant international issues. He also added that in terms of bi-lateral trade there would a target set for $20 billion.
After the UK’s exit was confirmed on December 31st 2019, the transition period was set until 31st December 2020, and currently that doesn’t look like it’s going to be extended, so though it’s yet to be finalized, the talks were very positive, however, the deal can only be implemented once Britain has secured an agreement with the EU, as Turkey is a member of the EU customs Union.
One of the other major talking points involved immigration, and Turkey is hoping to secure special status for it’s citizens and business people, similar to the Ankara Agreement, once the new immigration rules are put in place – but terms on this are yet to be decided.
