The UK-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (the “FTA”) was signed on 29 December 2020 as Turkey’s Minister for Trade, Ruhsar Pekcan and UK’s International Trade Secretary Liz Truss met on a video call. The FTA came into effect as of 1 January 2021.
The Brexit transition period officially has come to an end and the formal separation of the UK from the EU has completed, marking also that the UK has left the EU’s economic orbit and customs union. Subsequently, the ‘customs union relationship’ between the UK and Turkey has concluded as of 1 January 2021. The FTA, preserving the commercial opportunities provided by the customs union, aims to support trade between the two countries which was worth more than $25 billion in 2019.
Scope of the Free Trade Agreement
The UK is Turkey’s second-biggest export market, mostly for precious metals, vehicles, textiles and electrical equipment. The FTA ensures the continued tariff-free flow of goods and protects vital UK-Turkey supply chains in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, covering all industrial and agricultural goods.
Accordingly, subheadings under the FTA are as follows:
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Regulations on Access to Market and Origin for Trade in Goods,
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Customs and Trade Facilitation,
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Technical Barriers to Trade,
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Commercial Policy Measures
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Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures,
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Competition,
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Government Procurement,
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Intellectual Property Rights
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Administrative and Institutional Provisions and Dispute Settlement
Both countries have also committed to working towards a more ambitious free trade agreement, expanding the deal's scope to include areas such as services, investments and advanced agricultural concessions in the future.
Please click
here to access the full Turkish text of the announcement of the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Turkey.
MORAL & PARTNERS
Nur Duygu Bozkurt Kadirhan, Senior Associate
Burak Batı, Associate
İrem Tanık, Trainee Lawyer