Turkish trade delegation visited the U.S. to discuss bilateral trade relations, particularly global repercussions of Washington's recent reciprocity-based trade policies, the Trade Ministry announced in a written statement on Monday.
The May 22 visit came after Trade Minister Ömer Bolat's online meeting in April with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer. It marked the third round of talks, the ministry said.
Trump signed an executive order in early April that imposed reciprocal tariffs on nations worldwide, stating that all countries will be subject to a minimum baseline tariff of 10%, with some, such as Canada, Mexico, China and EU states, paying higher rates.
Türkiye is also among the countries facing a 10% rate.
The delegation, headed by Turkish Deputy Trade Minister Mustafa Tuzcu, visited Washington, DC, to meet with U.S. Deputy Trade Representative Bryant Trick and other officials.
The ministry noted that the "meeting focused on the global repercussions of the recent reciprocity-based trade policies of the U.S. and the new policy steps that can be taken to advance bilateral trade in this period."
During the visit, additional steps that can be taken to continue the momentum achieved in the last decade in Türkiye-U.S. trade relations, to achieve the $100-billion bilateral trade volume target, were discussed, the ministry also said.
In the previous Trump mandate, in 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Trump agreed to increase the bilateral trade volume to $100 billion. The trade volume between the two countries was around $32 billion in 2024.
Both sides confirmed that there are mutual trade and investment opportunities between Türkiye and the U.S. in almost every sector, as well as great potential in areas such as new technologies, innovation, manufacturing, AI and cybersecurity, the ministry also noted.
"In addition, the defense and energy sectors are other critical areas where cooperation is advancing rapidly," it added.
"During the visit, where joint efforts were discussed to use the high cooperation potential effectively and efficiently and to be minimally affected by various new practices, it was emphasized that the balanced mutual increase and diversification of trade and the encouragement of investments are common priorities in the new period," the statement further read.
It also said it would continue contacts with the U.S., pledging to "keep taking the necessary steps to evaluate opportunities to improve the conditions for our companies to enter the U.S. market in many sectors."
