Describes bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that this country is party to, including with the United States. Includes websites and other resources where U.S. companies can get more information on how to take advantage of these agreements.
Last Published: 6/18/2019

The European Union and Turkey are linked by a Customs Union agreement, which came into force in 1995.  Turkey has been a candidate country to join the EU since 1999.  The Customs Union covers all industrial goods but does not address agriculture (except processed agricultural products), services or public procurement.  Bilateral trade concessions apply to agricultural as well as coal and steel products.  In addition to providing for a common external tariff for the products covered, the Customs Union foresees that Turkey is to align to the “acquis communautaire” in several essential internal market areas, notably with regard to industrial standards.  In December 2016, the Commission proposed to modernize the Customs Union and to further extend the bilateral trade relations to areas such as services, public procurement and sustainable development.  The Commission proposal was based on comprehensive preparatory work throughout 2016, which included a public consultation with stakeholders, a detailed Impact Assessment and a study by an external consultant.  The Commission's proposal is currently being discussed in Council.

Turkey is member of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (Euromed) and as such should conclude free trade agreements with all other Mediterranean partners, with a view to the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area. 

The key objective of the trade partnership is the creation of a deep Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area, which aims at removing barriers to trade and investment between both the EU and Southern Mediterranean countries and among the Southern Mediterranean countries themselves.  Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements are in force with most of the partners (except for Syria and Libya).

In addition to the Customs Union with the EU, Turkey has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Egypt, Faroe Islands*, Georgia, Ghana*, Iceland, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo*, Lebanon*, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Montenegro, Moldova*, Morocco, Norway, Palestine, Serbia, Singapore*, South Korea, Switzerland and Lichtenstein, Syria (pending), Tunisia. (*to be ratified).  Turkey has been a WTO member since 1995 and has membership in various organizations, including the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), D-8, and others.

A Tax Treaty Agreement between the United States Government the Government of Turkey for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, together with a related Protocol, was signed in 1996.  See the full tax treaty here.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.