Working with the U.S. to Reach our $100 Billion Trade Target

With the motto ‘Our mission is to carry our power to the world’, we continue our voluntary ‘Business Diplomacy’ activities around the world. DEİK, the window of the Turkish private sector to the outside world, has been carrying out its activities for 39 years based on voluntary membership, without using public funds, and with 152 Business Councils spread all over the world. We continue our activities with our Business Councils, Counterpart Organizations, and colleagues.

In 1985, DEİK/ Türkiye-U.S. Business Council (TAİK), the first business council established under the umbrella of DEİK with the agreement signed with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, carries out its activities with the American- Turkish Business Roundtable (ATBR), the Counterpart Organization, under the chairmanship of Murat Özyeğin. Our Council continues its activities to increase business and industrial cooperation and joint investment between Türkiye and the U.S., evaluating Turkish-American cooperation opportunities in third countries, identifying laws and practices that restrict trade and joint ventures, making recommendations to the relevant authorities for their removal or improvement, and contributing to the promotion of Türkiye and the Turkish economy in the U.S. On November 5, 2024, we closely followed the U.S. elections. I wish the elections to be auspicious for the people of the U.S. and the whole world.

As DEİK, which continues the foreign economic relations of the Turkish private sector under the motto of ‘Business Diplomacy’, these elections were one of the most important developments in the course of our bilateral trade relations. The political relations of the countries are important to pave the way for our trade, but bilateral trade should be able to continue regardless of the political agenda of the countries. With the re-election of Mr. Trump as the President of the United States, we expect a new positive period to begin in terms of the U.S.-Türkiye economic relations and we expect to work harder together to achieve the $100 billion trade target set under Mr. Trump.

Our foreign trade volume between the two countries has exceeded $30 billion and our goal is to increase this figure to $100 billion. Of course, in addition to trade, mutual investment also plays an important role in our relationship with the United States. I think American companies will play an important role in the program announced by our Ministry of Industry and Technology to develop our high-tech production capacity by 2030.

On the other hand, I think we can cooperate with the U.S. in terms of financing. Finally, it is also important that we take joint initiatives the third countries, especially on the African continent, especially in infrastructure projects, from agriculture to food to industry. In the new issue of our magazine, in which we share with you the details of ‘Türkiye-America Business Diplomacy Relations’, Ali Galip İlter, Chairperson of DEİK/Türkiye- Venezuela Business Council, shared his views on this issue with our readers. Our cover interview is with Murat Özyeğin, Chairperson of DEİK/Türkiye-U.S. Business Council (TAİK). We have designed our new issue with articles and infographics that describe the changes in Türkiye’s business activities in the U.S. from the past to the present. You can also find many other content such as ‘The Impact of the U.S. Election Results on Türkiye’, ‘Digitization and the Audiobook Market’ and ‘The Oscar Awards’ in our new issue.

I wish you a pleasant reading.