RESTRICTED  
  
WT/TPR/G/331  
9 February 2016  
(16-0829)  Page: 1/19  
Trade Policy Review Body  Original: English  
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
REPORT BY 
TURKEY 
Pursuant to the Agreement Establishing the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (Annex 3 of the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization), the policy statement by Turkey 
is attached. 
 
 
Note: This report is subject to restricted circulation and press embargo until the end of the first 
session of the meeting of the Trad e Policy Review Body on Turkey. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  Contents 
1   INTROD UCTION  .......................................................................................................... 3  
2   ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT .......................................................................................... 3  
2.1   Fisca l Policy ........................................................................................................... ... 3 
2.2   Inflation and Monetary Policy ...................................................................................... 4  
2.3   Financial Se ctor Refo rms ............................................................................................ 4  
2.4   Exports, Import s and Trade Balance ............................................................................. 5  
2.4.1   Export Developments by Sectors ............................................................................... 5  
2.4.2   Services Trade ....................................................................................................... 6 
2.5   Foreign Investment .................................................................................................... 6  
3   TRADE PO LICIES ......................................................................................................... 7  
3.1   Multilateral Trade Policy .............................................................................................. 7  
3.1.1   Doha Development Agenda ...................................................................................... 7  
3.1.2   Plurilateral Nego tiations under  the WTO ..................................................................... 8  
3.2   Regional  Initiatives ....................................................................................................  9 
3.3   Turkey-E U Relations .................................................................................................. 9  
3.3.1   Free and Preferential Trade Agreements .................................................................... 10 
3.4   Turkey in Other Multilateral Fora ................................................................................. 12 
3.4.1   The Group of Twenty (G20) ..................................................................................... 12 
3.4.2   MIKTA .................................................................................................................. 12 
3.4.3   Pacific Alliance ....................................................................................................... 13 
4   FUTURE ECONOMIC AN D TRADE POLICY  GOALS ........................................................ 13  
APPENDIX TABLES ......................................................................................................... 14  
 WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  1  INTRODUCTION 
1.1.  The 6th Trade Policy Review of Turkey co mes at a time of prolonged effects of global 
economic problems. 
1.2.  Even though the global economy emerged from the deepest recession of its history with a 
remarkable expansion of trade and revival of econom ic activity in 2010, the bright outlook of pre-
crisis era still looks dim. 
1.3.  Nevertheless, Turkish economy grew strongly after the global economic crisis as a result of 
decisive and comprehensive economic policy programs, robust macroeconomic foundations, capital 
market advantages and loan expansion. 
2  ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 2.1.  Turkey was one of the highest growing count ries with 8.5 % GDP growth in 2011. In 2011, 
growth mainly came from private consumption and fixed capital investment. Following this 
remarkable rate of growth, the economy slowed down in 2012 due to measures taken to balance domestic and external demand. Especially in the la st quarter of 2012, although the contribution of 
net exports of goods and services to the growth was higher than expectations, sharp declines in 
private consumption and investment resulted in a growth rate of 2.2% in 2012. 
2.2.  For the following 2 years, economic growth rates for Turkish economy were substantial in an 
environment where the global economic growth le vel remained low. After its slowdown in 2012, 
growth rate was recorded as 4.1% in 2013 mainly due to domestic demand growth. 
2.3.  Turkish economy grew by 2.9% in 2014 an d reached 799 billion USD. The main engine of 
growth was net exports. Total contribution of ne t exports to economic growth was realized as 
1.8 points in 2014.  
2.4.  In the first half of 2015, Turkish economy grew by 3.1%. Contrary to the outlook in 2014, 
contribution of net exports to growth was -1.2 points, whereas domestic demand did contribute by 
5.2 points, and became the main source of econ omic performance in the first 6 months of 2015. 
Turkey grew faster than many country groups, in cluding the OECD, G7, EU and Euro Area average 
in the first half of 2015. 
2.1  Fiscal Policy 
2.5.  Fiscal discipline has been one of the corner stones of Turkey’s ongoing economic resilience 
and played the leading role in maintaining the solid outlook in macroeconomic parameters.  
2.6.  Central government budget deficit/GDP ratio was 1.2% and 1.3% in 2013 and 2014 
respectively. On the basis of the Maastricht criterion, which sets 3% as the ceiling, Turkey 
outperformed 23 EU countries. In addition; total debt/GDP ratio of Turkey was 36.2% in 2013, which again was well below the level in the Maastricht Criterion (60%). 
2.7.  The Turkish Government's medium to long-term fiscal strategy seeks to strengthen 
macroeconomic and financial stability by increasing growth performance while reducing current account deficit and achieving inflation target. It is envisaged that sustainability of the fiscal policy 
will be pursued by curbing public sector borrowi ng requirement and primary expenditures.  Public 
savings-investment gap will be reduced gradually by controlling current outlays and transfer payments. Along with controlling the pace of increase in spending, flexibility of public expenditures will be improved by taking fiscal burden of ne w spending programs into account in budgeting 
process. A key initiative in this regard will be the prioritization of spending programs, especially in 
infrastructure investments, promoting regional development, education and R&D support. 
2.8.  Fiscal policy will be implemented in line with the goals of supporting economic stability, 
increasing domestic savings, curbing current account deficit, fighting against inflation and boosting 
the economic growth potential. Sustainability of th e fiscal policy will be pursued by curbing public 
sector borrowing requirement and primary expenditures. Public savings-investment gap will be 
reduced gradually by controlling current outlays and transfer payments. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  2.2  Inflation and Monetary Policy 
2.9.  In the 2011-2015 period, Turkey continued to implement inflation targeting together with a 
floating exchange rate regime so as to achieve and maintain price stability. 
2.10.  Minimizing the effects of the volatility in  capital flows on domestic markets has been the 
main emphasis in the last years. Policy framework developed by Turkey aimed at smoothing out 
the effects of the volatility in capital flows by ensuring healthy credit growth and exchange rate 
developments consistent with economic fundamentals. 
2.11.  Besides, the Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) has also gradually modified the reserve 
requirement system to support the macro-financial stability and balanced growth. The Reserve Option Mechanism, introduced towards the end of 2011, mainly aims reducing the adverse impact of the excessive volatility in capital movements on the macroeconomic and financial stability. 
2.12.  The course of inflation in 2014 was shaped  mainly by exchange rate developments, food 
and commodity prices. The main drivers of the inflation to surpass the uncertainty band were the exchange rate pass-through as well as the sharp increase in food prices. 
2.13.  The CBT continues to implement policies in  order to limit the impact of capital flows on 
domestic variables. At the beginning of 2015, follo wing the weakening of capital flows, the CBT has 
changed reserve option coefficients in order to pr ovide for the temporary FX liquidity need of the 
financial system. Moreover, the CBT has made the upper limits on FX selling auctions more flexible 
as of the end of February 2015 in order to  mitigate exchange rate volatility.  
2.14.  The CBT released a road map on 18 Augu st 2015 regarding the policies to be implemented 
before and during the normalization of global mo netary policies. Accordingly, the Bank announced 
that the width of the corridor will be narrowed and the interest rate corridor will be made more 
symmetric around the one-week repo interest rate. 
2.15.  During the simplification process, adjust ments will be made in the funding composition to 
preserve the required degree of tightness in th e monetary policy. Moreover, this announcement 
also incorporated policies regarding Turkish lira liquidity, foreign exchange liquidity and financial stability to be implemented before and during the normalization. Thus, with respect to the Turkish 
lira liquidity, quotation on the interest rate on borrowing facilities provided for primary dealers via 
repo transactions was terminated and collateral conditions for Turkish lira transactions were simplified as of 23 September 2015. In addition, it was reminded that foreign exchange deposits 
can be used as collaterals against Turkish lira transactions, and new simplified rules were 
announced regarding the use of this facility. The aim of these arrangements that were put into 
effect on 28 September 2015 was to enhance the efficiency of the banks’ liquidity management. 
2.16.  Measures were taken to enhance financial stability in line with the road map released in 
August 2015. In addition to the changes in requ ired reserves made in the first quarter of 2015, 
which aimed to foster maturity extension in foreign exchange non-core liabilities of banks and financing companies, required reserve ratios were changed to incentivize maturities longer than 
three years for new foreign exchange non-core liabilities to originate after 28 August 2015. This 
change has supported the trend of maturity extension in non-core foreign exchange liabilities observed since November 2014. The steady upward trend in maturities longer than three years is deemed particularly important for financial stability. In a separate announcement made on 
29 August 2015, the CBT stated that the remuneration rate of Turkish lira required reserves would 
be increased by 50 basis points each in September, October and December 2015. This arrangement will reduce the intermediation costs of the banking sector and offer an additional 
support to core liabilities. In fact, the Loan/Deposit ratio which was on an upward trend has been 
stabilized since the first release of this arrangement in November 2014. 
2.3  Financial Sector Reforms 
2.17.  Turkey has been implementing Basel II and Basel II.5 since July 2012. The regulations 
about banks’ internal risk models in line with Basel requirements have also been completed and issued in September 2014. As a Basel Committee member, Turkey is going through RCAP process starting from 2015Q3. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  2.18.  Regarding enhancing consolidated bankin g supervision and coverage of risks emanating 
from non-banking entities in the group; the Bank ing Regulation and Supervision Agency of Turkey 
has put into effect a new directive on monitoring intra-group transactions which is effective since 2014. With this directive, banks will report deta iled information about their parent companies and 
the financial and nonfinancial companies that are owned by their parents. 
2.19.  The Law on Payment and Security Settlem ent Systems, Payment Services and Electronic 
Money Institutions No. 6493, prepared based on th e related EU regulations has been accepted on 
June 20, 2013 and entered into force on June 27, 2013. In consequence, with the Law No. 6493; 
operations and surveillance of payment systems and security settlement systems as well as the 
operating principles of system operators have been  regulated and authorized to make regulations. 
2.20.  In 2013-2014, in order to control the systemic risks; measures regarding consumer loans, 
especially credit cards, were taken. The primary aim of these measures was keeping a stable 
credit growth while directing savings to effective productive investments and curbing down the consumption. 
2.4  Exports, Imports and Trade Balance 
2.21.  Turkey’s exports which were realized as US$134.9 billion in 2011 amounted to 
US$152.5 billion in 2012, with an increase of 13%. After a slight decrease to US$151.8 billion in 
2013, exports reached to US$157.6 billion in 2014. 
2.22.  Turkey exhibited a gripping foreign trade performance in 2014, comparing the global trends 
and averages. According to World Trade Organization (WTO) data, the dollar value of world merchandise trade stagnated in 2014, as exports rose just 0.7% to US$18.9 trillion. Thus, Turkey 
embraced an export expansion bigger than global average. WTO statistics indicate that Turkey is 
the 15th country among 40 member states (inclu ding European Union as a block) of which 
succeeded to increase their total exports annuall y. For the year 2014, Tu rkey outperformed USA 
(2.6%), India (2.5%), Malaysia (2.5%), Korea (2.3%) and EU (1.4%) with its export expansion 
performance. 
2.23.   Turkey’s imports were recorded as US$240.8 billion, US$236.5 billion and US$251.7 billion 
in 2011, 2012 and 2013 consecutively. Moderate path in  growth and decline in oil prices led to a 
decrease in imports in 2014 with a fall of 3.8% and imports were recorded at US$242.2 billion in 2014. 
2.24.  Turkey’s foreign trade volume that was recorded as US$375.7 billion in 2011 reached 
US$399.8 billion in 2014. While the export import coverage ratio was 65.1% in 2014, the ratio of 
foreign trade deficit to GDP was 10.6% in the same  year. The ratio of total trade volume/GDP was 
50% by 2014. 
2.4.1  Export Developments by Sectors 
2.25.  Sectoral composition of Turkey’s export s has been changing towards more capital and 
technology intensive products in accordance with the developments in global trends in world trade. 
The share of medium and high-tech products in Turkish exports moved from 32% with a value of 
US$40.3 billion in 2011 to 31.6% with a value of US$46.5 billion in 2014. 
2.26.  The value of automotive, machinery and el ectrical and electronics industry exports, a 
product group dominated by high value added and high-tech products, reached to US$45,8 billion 
in 2014, representing a share of 29.1 % in total exports. Particularly the automotive industry 
products played the most significant role in increasing the share of this relatively high capital-intensive product group in Turkey’s exports. Automo tive industry holds the first rank in Turkey’s 
exports with a share of 14.22 %. In 2014, export  of the industry has increased by 4.6% and 
reached to US$22.4 billion. 
2.27.  The Turkish apparel sector is also among the most critical sectors in terms of contribution to 
GDP, employment generation and net exports. Th e industry focuses on value added products. The 
local clothing industry emphasizes on new designs and fashion collections for the top end international apparel market. Turkey also aims to make Istanbul one of the top five fashion WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  centers of the world as of 2023 and Istanbul Fashion Week is getting increasingly more attractive 
for the fashion world.  
2.4.2  Services Trade 2.28.  The sector has a prominent role in terms of economic activity, employment generation and 
trade at both domestic and international levels. The service sectors’ share in Turkey’s GDP was 
registered at 59% in 2014. Furthermore growth in services industry (4.1%) outpaced that of any 
other economic activity, registering even higher than the overall GDP growth (2.9%) in the same 
year. 
2.29.  Services account for 22% of Turkey’s gro ss exports but for over 40% in value added terms. 
This indicates that Turkey’s exports of goods rely intensively on services inputs. As of 2014, Turkey stands as the 27th largest commercial service exporter in the world with an export value of 
US$50 billion. For 2023, Turkey targets to reach US$150 billion in services exports. 
2.30.  Efficient operation of services markets impr oves productivity both in the services sectors 
and industries using services as inputs. Services also account for a higher share of GDP than of 
employment. This indicates that labor productivity is significantly higher for services than in other 
sectors. 
2.31.  Within the services sector, the importance of visual services has been increasing rapidly. 
According to the “Theatrical Market Statistics 2014” of the “Motion Picture Association, Turkish box 
office has been ranked 15th among international box office markets in 2014 with a revenue of US$30 million. 
2.32.  As a recent phenomenon, Turkish serials’ popularity is increasing worldwide. It is estimated 
that Turkish serial productions have an audience of about 400 million in over 70 countries. 
2.5  Foreign Investment 2.33.  In the decade between 2004-2014, Turkey  had 8.5 times more FDI (US$123.7 billion) than 
it had had during the previous 80 years. Accordin g to the balance of payments statistics of the 
CBT, total value of FDI inflow was US$16.2 billion in 2011; US$13.3 billion in 2012; US$12.5 billion in 2013; US$12.8 billion in 2014 an d US$11.8 billion as of August 2015. 
2.34.  A new Investment Incentive Program for in vestment projects incorporating sectoral and 
regional development priorities was introduced with the Decree No. 2012/3305 on State Incentives for Investments dated 19 June 2012.  
2.35.  The Investment Incentive Program aims to steer savings into high value added investments, 
to boost production and employment, to encourage large scale and strategic investments with high 
R&D content for increased international competitivene ss, to increase foreign direct investments, to 
reduce regional development disparities and to promote investments for clustering and 
environment protection for the production and export-oriented growth strategy in line with the 
projected targets in Development Plans and Annual Programs as well as international agreements 
2.36.  In addition to its Bilateral Investment Agreements, Turkey signed a more comprehensive 
investment agreement in February 2015 with South Korea under the Framework Agreement 
Establishing a Free Trade Area between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Korea. Besides, 
Turkey has ongoing FTA negotiations with several countries which include a comprehensive investment chapter. 
2.37.  Turkish overseas contracting sector is th e most experienced services sector of Turkish 
economy. Starting their international activity with  the Libyan market in the early 70’s, the Turkish 
contractors have spread across the globe in four decades.  
2.38.  Despite the global economic slowdown as we ll as the regional political troubles in MENA 
region such as Libya, Iraq and Syria and declining of oil prices in these regions, Turkish overseas 
contracting sector continued its development. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  2.39.  As of the end of November 2015, Turkish overseas contracting companies undertook more 
than 8,700 projects worth of exceeding US$321.3 billion in 106 countries. Projects taken by 
Turkish companies are largely situated in the Eurasia and MENA regions. 
3  TRADE POLICIES 
3.1.  Turkey continues to put emphasis on dive rsifying its trade partners and lessen its market 
dependencies. Export strategies applied with this aim paved the way to creating a favorable global environment for Turkish exports. Moreover, high growth rates in the Turkish economy increased 
the demand for imports due to higher income and additional investments. Turkey imports a large 
amount of intermediate goods, which constitutes almost 70% of its total imports. Consequently, 
integration of the Turkish economy to global markets accelerated with a dazzling performance in recent years. 
3.2.   Customs Union between Turkey and the EU has continued to be a significant cornerstone in 
Turkey's foreign trade policy. 
3.1  Multilateral Trade Policy 
3.3.  Turkey has long been a country believing in the virtues and benefits of multilateral trading 
system and an active player under the WTO roof. Free and fair trade principles as upheld in the 
WTO guide the formulation and conduct of Turkey’s foreign trade policies. 
3.4.  Turkey believes that the WTO has been the gu ardian and enforcer of multilateral trade rules 
that have underpinned the international economic order for almost 70 years. Multilateral trade rules have provided much-needed stability and predictability in international trade relations. In today’s fast changing global trading environment, the need for a well-functioning multilateral 
trading system is even more pressing. Resisting protectionism and supporting a strong multilateral 
trade system continues to be Turkey’s priority. 
3.5.  For Turkey, WTO is not only a mechanism for ensuring smooth functioning of global trade 
regime or a great platform for transparency, but also for following ambitious agendas for trade 
liberalization. 
3.6.  Turkey regards trade also as a tool for de velopment, and values all available platforms to 
discuss policy alternatives, discover avenues for integration to global economy and become a part 
of value chains. In this respect, Turkey pours effort to achieve further liberalization beginning from its region, and despite geopolitical instabilities, works to enhance its commercial and economic relations with its neighbors. Turkey expects its tr ade policy to contribute to the economic and also 
political stability in its region. 
3.1.1  Doha Development Agenda 3.7.  With its potential to deliver a highly anti cipated opportunity for the establishment of a more 
competitive and fairer multilateral trading system, Doha Development Agenda has been attached 
great importance by Turkey. Besides its aim to further liberalizing trade, Doha Round has the untapped aptitude to better integrate developing countries, particularly Least Developed Countries 
(LDCs), into the multilateral trading system. 
3.8.  Turkey, as one of the active participants of Doha Round, has been the staunch supporter of a 
balanced outcome of the negotiations that can contribute not only to the global trade and welfare, but also to development. Being part of the “Friends of the System”, Turkey is deeply committed to 
the conclusion of the multilateral trade negotiations an ambitious yet balanced outcome. 
3.9.  In the run up to the 10th WTO Ministerial in Nairobi, Turkey has argued that the credibility of 
the WTO and in particular the future of its negotiation function is dependent on delivering fair and 
meaningful outcomes that will benefit all. With this understanding, Turkey reaffirmed its 
commitment to pursue negotiations on the outstanding issues within the framework of the previous Ministerial decisions and declarations as well as the General Council Decisions. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  3.10.  Turkey has been one of the most active and supportive members of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement (TFA). Turkey fully supports the immedi ate implementation of the TFA, which will be 
beneficial for all trading partners regardless of th eir level of development. Ratification process of 
the Agreement is under way and will be completed very soon. 
3.11.  Turkey also is keen to actively translat e the liberalization commitments into action. It is 
worth to note that in NAMA Negotiations, as a ra mification of the Customs Union, Turkey will be 
the only developing country to apply developed count ry coefficients. It is also worthy to add that 
Turkey’s ambitious agenda is not limited with NAMA Negotiations. 
3.12.  Turkey is a key supporter of the developm ent and LDC-related issues within the DDA. With 
its supportive approach to integrate LDCs proper ly into the global trading system, Turkey has 
sustained multifarious efforts in recent years. As one of the indications of this attitude, official 
development aid provided by Turkey has been incr easing in recent years. While Turkey’s annual 
development aid was just US$601 million in 2005, it skyrocketed to around US$3.6 billion by 2014. 
3.13.  Furthermore, Turkey’s notification on pref erential treatment for LDCs in services trade has 
been circulated on 3 September 2015. Turkey believe s in not only market access, but also capacity 
building efforts. Facilitation of the mobility of LD C service suppliers are vital for those countries to 
meaningfully benefit from the treatment granted to them. That is why our notification does not 
only comprise market access but also these indispensable elements for market entry. 
3.14.  Turkey has ratified the Protocol amendi ng the TRIPS Agreement with the Law No. 6471 
dated 30 April 2013 which was promulgated on the Official Gazette dated 22 May 2013. The 
instrument of acceptance was transmitted to the WTO Secretariat on 8 May 2014. 
3.15.  Turkey has revised the responses to the “Che cklist of Issues on Enforcement” in accordance 
with the Article 63 of TRIPS Agreement. The revised responses to the Checklist of Issues on 
Enforcement will be delivered to the WTO in due time. Also, a study on the legislation regarding 
intellectual property rights is carried out and a new notification for the revised and newly introduced laws and regulations is anticipated to be delivered to the WTO by 2016. 
3.1.2  Plurilateral Negotiations under the WTO 
3.1.2.1  Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) 3.16.  Turkey has officially taken part in the negotiations on EGA, with the aim of eliminating 
tariffs on a list of products agreed as environmental goods, since the 5th Round of talks that has 
been held in March 2015.Turkey believes that EGA will have a positive impact that will go beyond 
just export and import liberalization in environmental goods. It will also facilitate the process for renewable energy investments, technology transfer and capacity building.  
3.17.  Besides, Turkey believes that an agreement on liberalizing trade in environmental goods will 
contribute to our efforts in meeting the challenges of climate change, reaching the sustainable development goals recently accepted, as well as strengthening the multilateral trading system as a 
whole. 
3.1.2.2  Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) 3.18.  Turkey supports initiatives aimed at liberalizing services trade and believes that there is 
untapped potential to be released by way of trade in services negotiations. Turkey believes that as 
for a post-Bali priority and as being an enabler of international trade, transport and logistics should 
be on top of the list of services to be liberalized. Among them “road transport” is particularly critical in the sense that road transport is inevitable for door-to-door logistics and any relevant 
sector attached to it. 
3.19.  It is also of utmost importance for Turkey  that strong rules on procedural aspects of entry 
and temporary stay of natural persons accompany market access commitments. Visa, work permit 
or similar application procedures should not nullify or impair services trade in any mode of supply. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  3.20.  Together with Mode 4, transport and lo gistics sectors, Turkey believes that there is 
considerable opportunity with regard to trade in health-care especially by way of facilitating patient mobility. 
3.2  Regional Initiatives 
3.21.  Turkey has been actively pursuing its trade agenda within the four regional organizations to 
which it is a member, namely; Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Developing-8 (D-8), Black Sea Economic Organization and Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC). 
3.22.   Once the ECO Trade Agreement, D-8 Pref erential Trade Agreement and Trade Preferential 
System among the OIC countries become fully operatio nal, it is expected that Turkey’s trade with 
the mentioned region countries will gain further mo mentum and will be deepened in coming years. 
3.3  Turkey-EU Relations 
3.23.  Turkey has been linked to the EU by an Association Agreement since 1964 and a customs 
union was established in 1995. The European Council granted the status of candidate country to Turkey in December 1999 and accession negotiations were opened in October 2005.  
3.24.  As of November 2015, 14 chapters have been opened to negotiations, one of which was 
provisionally closed. EU membership is a strategic objective for Turkey. Turkey is committed to the 
EU accession process and to the reform agenda it entails. In this respect, Turkey adopted the new 
“EU Strategy” to accelerate the accession process on 18 September 2014. 
3.25.  The Customs Union has further strengthened the traditionally intensive trade relations 
between Turkey and the EU. Turkish exports to the EU increased from US$12.2 billion in 1995 to 
US$68.5 billion in 2014. During the same period, Turkish imports from the EU increased from 
US$18 billion to US$89.1 billion.  
3.26.  In 2014, the EU accounted for 43.5% of to tal exports and 36.8% of total imports of Turkey. 
Similarly, Turkey is an important trade partner of the EU. The foreign trade statistics of the EU for 
the year 2014 demonstrate that Turkey ranks seventh at imports and fifth at exports of the EU 
with shares of 3.5% and 4.4% respectively. 
3.27.  The product composition of exports transf ormed parallel to changing production structure 
due to the improved competition conditions and market access advantages gained from the 
Customs Union. Apart from the traditional sectors like textile and clothing or iron and steel, certain high value added sectors such as electronics, machinery and automotive increased both their shares in total exports and improved their compet itiveness in the EU and world market. In that 
respect, between 1995 and 2014, the share of agri culture sector in Turkish exports to the EU 
decreased from 17.6% to 8.1% and the share of textile and clothing sector decreased from 48% to 27%. However, the share of automotive sector  increased from 2.8% to 19.2%, the share of 
machinery increased from 3.2% to 9.7% and the share of electronics sector increased from 5.1% 
to 6.9%. 
3.28.  Despite all, there occurred a need to revise and update the Customs Union. The Customs 
Union had been regarded as a preliminary step prior to full EU membership but due to the 
protracted membership process, the asymmetric structure of the Customs Union has begun to cause serious problems for Turkey. 
3.29.  On this issue, upon the initiative of the Commission, the World Bank has prepared a Report 
on the ‘Evaluation of the Customs Union’. The repo rt confirms the existing asymmetries within the 
Customs Union and suggests the elimination of the existing systemic problems by extension of the Customs Union to new areas such as agriculture, services and public procurement. 
3.30.  In the beginning of 2014, during the high  level meetings, Turkey agreed with the EU 
Commission to negotiate the update of the Customs Union. In this context, the report, which forms 
the main framework for the negotiations, was endorsed in May 2015 by the parties. It is expected 
that the negotiations will be initiated in the last quarter of 2016. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  3.3.1  Free and Preferential Trade Agreements 
3.31.  The Turkey-EU Customs Union mainly cons titutes the legal basis of Turkey’s free trade 
agreements (FTA) and autonomous preferential re gimes. Under the Customs Union, Turkey shall 
align its commercial policy with the EU’s Common Commercial Policy. Together with the Common 
Customs Tariff, the preferential trade regime constitutes the most important part of the trade 
policy of Turkey applied towards third countries. 
3.32.  So far, Turkey has signed FTAs with 33 countries, 11 of which were repealed due to the 
accession of these countries to the EU. Currently, Turkey has 18 FTAs in force; namely,  EFTA, 
Israel, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Syria1, Egypt, Albania, 
Georgia, Montenegro, Serbia, Chile, Jordan, Mauritius, South Korea and Malaysia. 
3.33.  Additionally, the FTAs signed with Lebanon, Kosovo, Moldova, Faroe Islands and Singapore 
are under ratification process, and the FTA negotiations with Ghana are concluded. 
3.34.  Besides, Turkey has conc luded a limited-scope Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with 
Iran, which is in force since 1 January 2015.  
3.3.1.1  New Free Trade Agreements 
Turkey-Mauritius FTA 3.35.  The Turkey-Mauritius FTA is Turkey’s firs t FTA with a sub-Saharan African country. It was 
signed on 9 September 2011 and entered into force on 1 June 2013.  
3.36.  The Turkey-Mauritius FTA mainly eliminates customs duties imposed on imports and exports 
in industrial products, abolishes all quantitative restrictions on imports and measures having equivalent effect and also regulates exchange of  concession in agricultural products, technical 
barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, internal taxation, dumping, safeguard 
measures, payments, rules of origin and intellectual property rights. 
3.37.  The central oversight body of the FTA is the Turkey-Mauritius Joint Committee, comprised of 
the Parties’ senior officials. No Joint Committee meeting has been held so far. 
3.38.  In 2014, Turkey’s exports to Mauritius we re US$37.8 million, while Turkey’s imports from 
Mauritius were US$7.9 million. 
Turkey-Korea FTA 
3.39.  The Turkey-Korea FTA which consists of the “Framework Agreement Establishing a Free 
Trade Area between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Korea” (Framework Agreement) 
and the “Agreement on Trade in Goods between the Re public of Turkey and the Republic of Korea” 
(The Agreement on Trade in Goods) entered into force on 1 May 2013. 
3.40.  The Framework Agreement includes rules and procedures under 8 chapters, namely Initial 
Provisions, Intellectual Property Rights, Competition, Transparency, Trade and Sustainable 
Development, Dispute Settlement, Institutional Provisions and Exceptions and Final Provisions. 
3.41.  The Agreement on Trade in Goods fores ees the elimination of customs duties on all 
industrial goods within maximum seven years. For agricultural goods, excluding the ones on which 
Parties have socio-economic sensitivities, Parties have agreed on a dismantling period of maximum 
ten years. 
3.42.  The central oversight body for the FTA is the Joint Committee, comprised of the Minister of 
Economy of Turkey and the Minister for Trade of  Korea, or their respective designees. The 1
st Joint 
Committee Meeting of the FTA was held in Ankara on 19 September 2014. Additionally, the 
Customs Committee which was established under the FTA in order to oversight subjects in relation to customs, held its 1
st meeting on 5 January 2015. 
                                               
1 The FTA between Turkey and Syria was suspended on 6 December 2011. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  3.43.  In 2014, Turkey’s exports to Korea were US$471 million, while Turkey’s imports from Korea 
were US$7.6 billion. 
3.44.  The Framework Agreement establishes a free trade area among Parties and sets out the 
structure of the Turkey-Korea FTA. The Agreemen t also stipulates that the Parties shall start 
negotiations on trade in services and investments immediately after the Agreement on Trade in 
Goods enters into force. In this respect, the nego tiations on trade in services and investment were 
started in August 2013 and completed in June 2014. 
3.45.  Under the Framework Agreement Establishi ng a Free Trade Area between the Republic of 
Turkey and the Republic of Korea, the Agreemen t on Trade in Services and The Agreement on 
Investment were signed on 26 February 2015. The agreements are expected to enter into force 
following the conclusion of internal ratification process of both sides. 
Turkey–Malaysia Free Trade Agreement 
3.46.  The Turkey–Malaysia FTA entered into forc e on 1 August 2015. Under the FTA, Turkey and 
Malaysia eliminated their customs duties in approximately 70% of their total tariff lines 
immediately at the entry of the force of the FTA.  At the end of the elimination period, which is 
8 years in total, Malaysia will eliminate its customs duties in 99% of tariff lines and Turkey will eliminate its customs duties in 86% of tariff lines. In addition, Turkey has reduced its customs 
duties on palm oil products from 31.2% to 21.8% , which corresponds to 25% of its import from 
Malaysia. 
3.47.  At the current stage, the FTA covers only market access issues; nevertheless the FTA 
stipulates that the Parties will begin the negotiations on trade in services and exploratory talks on 
investments one year later after the entry into force of the agreement. Moreover, the FTA contains 
an economic and technical cooperation chapter, which envisages that the Parties will give efforts to enhance their cooperation in certain areas and sectors including services, investment promotion, 
trade development, agriculture and food industry, transportation, tourism, environment, research 
and development, intellectual property, health, en ergy, electronic commerce, automotive industry, 
etc.  
3.48.  In the year 2014, Turkey’s exports to Malaysia were US$315 million, while Malaysian 
exports to Turkey were US$1.2 billion. The trade volume was US$1.5 billion, which the Parties target to increase to US$5 billion at the near future by utilizing the FTA. 
3.3.1.2  Modernization of Existing Free Trade Agreements 
EFTA Free Trade Agreement 
3.49.  The Turkey-EFTA FTA, which entered into force on 1 April 1992, establishes a preferential 
trade regime between Turkey and EFTA States rega rding industrial goods, fisheries and processed 
agricultural products. Currently, Turkey and EFTA States initiated negotiations in order to revise 
and enhance the scope of the FTA.  
3.50.  In revision process, parties are aiming at revision of the existing chapters of the FTA, 
namely trade in goods and related areas (such as technical barriers to trade, sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures, trade remedies), intellectual property rights, competition and horizontal and legal provisions, as well as to enhance the scope of the FTA by including new chapters, concerning trade in services, trade facilitation and trade and sustainable development therein. 
3.51.  To this end, up until today three rounds of negotiations took place and good progress was 
made. Lastly, parties agreed on holding fourth round of negotiations in Ankara in February 2016. 
3.52.  In 2014, Turkey’s goods exports to EFTA States were US$3.8 billion, while Turkey’s goods 
imports from EFTA States were US$5.8 billion. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  3.3.1.3  Free Trade Agreements under Negotiation 
3.53.  Turkey has launched initiatives to start negotiations with 11 countries/country blocs, which 
are the USA, Canada, Thailand, India, Indonesia,  Vietnam, Central American Countries, other ACP 
Countries, Algeria, South Africa and Pakistan. 
3.54.  Besides, Turkey had one round of explorat ory talks and two rounds of negotiations with the 
Russian Federation regarding the conclusion of an Agreement on Trade in Services and Investment. Turkey also held exploratory talks with Azerbaijan for a possible PTA. 
3.4  Turkey in Other Multilateral Fora 
3.4.1  The Group of Twenty (G20) 3.55.  With its undeniable weight in global econom y, Turkey is of the view that G20 provides an 
important platform to act together and adopt integr ated, coordinated and effective policies to meet 
the global challenges that need global actions. 
3.56.  Having assumed G-20 Term Presidency from 1 December 2014 to 30 November 2015, 
Turkey has set an agenda, focusing on inclusive and robust growth through collective action. In 
this context, three main priorities were set forth: Inclusiveness, Implementation and Investment 
for Growth. 
3.57.  Trade as a means of boosting global grow th and sustainable development was the integral 
part of all these main themes. Thus, in parallel  to Turkey’s overall theme under its G-20 Term 
Presidency, trade agenda has been shaped in full consideration with the current conjuncture in global trade.  
3.58.  The four main trade agenda items of Turkey ’s G-20 Term Presidency were: i) the cyclical 
and structural reasons behind the global trade slowdown, ii) policies for enhancing the 
participation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and LIDC’s into the Global Value Chains (GVCs), iii) ways and means for strengthening the multilateral trading system, and iv) the 
compatibility of Regional Trade Agreements with the multilateral trading system. 
3.59.  Turkey, as part of its Term Presidency, held  the third Trade Ministers Meeting in Istanbul on 
5-6 October, 2015 which brought together trade ministers of G20 countries, other invited guests 
and the Director-General of the WTO, Secretary-Ge neral of the OECD and representatives from the 
World Bank and the IMF. Ministers held discussions within the context of the trade priorities determined by the Turkish Presidency. Besides, held  just before the 10th Ministerial Conference of 
the WTO, this meeting provided an important venue for the G20 members to discuss the ways 
they will be following in Nairobi. 
3.60.  At the G20 Summit in Antalya on 15-16 November 2015, leaders stated that global trade 
and investment continue to be important en gines of economic growth and development, 
generating employment and contributing to welfar e and inclusive growth. They asserted that the 
WTO is the backbone of the multilateral trad ing system and expressed their commitment to a 
strong and efficient multilateral trading system. Leaders also underlined the continuation of efforts 
to ensure that bilateral, regional and plurilateral trade agreements are consistent with and 
contribute to a stronger multilateral trade syst em under WTO rules. In 2016, Turkey will work 
closely with the Chinese Term Presidency as a member of the Troika. 
3.4.2  MIKTA 
3.61.  As a platform, bringing together countries with very important and distinctive roles in their 
regions, MIKTA offers a valuable opportunity to build up dialogue for trade and economic cooperation among Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Australia and Turkey. 
3.62.  Since its creation as a cross-regional consultative platform in 2013, Turkey considers MIKTA 
as a valuable mean to increase mutual understan ding, strengthen bilateral ties and find common 
grounds for further cooperation among the relevant  countries. Each MIKTA country is already an WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  important trade and economic partner for Turkey, de spite the geographic distance which often acts 
as a barrier against realizing higher trade and investment flows between countries. 
3.63.  With this perspective, Turkey is determined to collaborate closely with MIKTA countries on 
trade and economic issues in the years to come. 
3.4.3  Pacific Alliance 
3.64.  On 30 June 2013, Turkey has become an observer to Pacific Alliance formed between 
Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Chile with the eventu al aim of ensuring free movement of goods, 
services and people among the parties. 
4  FUTURE ECONOMIC AND TRADE POLICY GOALS 4.1.  Turkey, with its rising prosperity, is now pursuing goals for 2023, the centenary of the 
foundation of the Republic of Turkey. If the target s set as part of Vision 2023 are reached, Turkey 
will be among the top ten economies of the world wi th a size of US$2 trillion. Vision 2023, which is 
on track since 2012, foresees to reach US$500 billio n of exports by 2013, with an average of 12% 
annual increase. Once the target is reached, Turkey  will be taking 1.5% share from international 
trade, with an 80% exports/imports ratio.  
4.2.  Among others, achieving Vision 2023 requires  Turkey to transform its export composition 
from low-tech to high-tech products, diversify its target markets and sectors for exports, and 
pursue a pro-active policy both in goods and services exports. In the same vein, as the 
transformation of trade has been under way for some  time, Turkey needs to better locate itself in 
international fragmentation of production in global value chains. Despite its increase considerably in the last two decades, additional steps including those relate to wider trade and economic 
environment are needed to be taken so that Turkey, as a country perfectly located at the heart of 
multiple supply chains, could gain greater visibility in the global value chains. Further continuation of domestic reforms is believed to be lifting competitiveness in a way helping Turkey to move up in 
the global supply chains.  
4.3.  While the Vision 2023 provides a long term perspective rather than focusing on short term 
targets, the Tenth Development Plan, covering the 2014-2018 period, will be a milestone in 
advancing the society in line with the 2023 targets. By mobilizing potential regional dynamics and 
human capabilities of Turkey, it will pave th e ground for better positioning internationally. 
4.4.  Additionally, although the progress has slowed in recent years, the EU accession process as a 
significant anchor for reforms in Turkey is believed to be gaining additional impetus in the coming 
period. Indeed, as a country that has benefited significantly from deepening integration with the 
EU through the growing sophisticati on of both exports and imports, Turkey will continue its efforts 
to accelerate momentum with a focus on economic cooperation, in particular the modernization of 
the Customs Union. 
4.5.  Last but not the least, trade liberalization at all fronts, with its potential to deliver new 
trading opportunities, will be carrying Turk ey forward towards accomplishing 2023 Vision. WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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  APPENDIX TABLES 
Table 1 Exports by countries and regions, 2011-14 
(Value $ '000) 
 2011  2012  2013 2014  
Total  134,906,868  152,461,737  151,802,637  157,610,158  
A-EU COUNTRIES (28)  62,589,257  59,398,377  63,039,810  68,514,370  
B-FREE ZONES IN TURKEY  2,544,721  2,294,934  2,412,824  2,269,841  
C-OTHER COUNTRIES  69,772,890  90,768,426  86,350,002  86,825,947  
   1-Other European Countries 12,734,548 14,166,917 14,213,880 15,183,962 
   2-North African Countries 6,700,805 9,443,604 10,041,750 9,757,935 
   3-Other African Countries 3,633,016 3,913,246 4,103,794 3,996,463 
   4-North American Countries 5,459,299 6,662,554 6,580,293 7,292,336 
   5-Central America and Caribbean 626,293 769,630 1,004,173 938,023 
   6-South America Countries 1,840,351 2,191,084 2,126,991 1,852,328 
   7-Near and Middle Eastern 27,934,772 42,451,153 35,574,660 35,383,669 
   8-Other Asian Countries 10,199,361 10,574,649 12,016,838 11,590,682 
   9-Australia and New Zealand 480,755 490,339 538,473 600,042 
  10-Other Countries 163,690 105,250 149,150 230,507 
Selected country groups  
 OECD Countries 67,113,921 66,289,740 68,683,836 76,674,897 
 EFTA Countries 1,887,252 2,601,134 1,661,908 3,795,180 
Organization of Blac k Sea Economic Co-
operation 17,767,964 18,791,305 20,367,992 19,687,232 
Organization for Economic Co-operation 9,291,735 16,563,295 11,898,400 11,716,861 
 New Independent States 13,376,636 15,074,703 16,924,418 15,616,469 
Turkish Republics 5,039,884 5,840,703 6,908,137 7,107,785 
Organization of Islamic Conference 37,325,434 55,218,487 49,370,615 48,625,211 
 
Table 2 Exports by Sectors, 2011-14 
(Value $ '000) 
  2011  2012  2013 2014  
Total 134,906,868  152,461,737  151,802,637  157,610,158  
1- Agricultural products 15,279,137 1,599,365 17,739,273 18,746,898 
i- Food 14,207,482 15,025,825 16,749,085 17,746,937 
(0) Food and live animals 12,285,608 12,685,641 14,112,070 15,156,639 
(00) Live animals 6,215 8,142 13,464 2,672 
(04) Cereals and cereal preparations 2,140,142 231,677 271,139 2,776,266 
(05) Fruits and vegetables 669,567 6,552,252 6,877,627 7,561,925 
(06) Sugar, sugar preparations and 
honey 48,124 512,285 64,795 689,866 
(08) Feeding stuff for animals 55,989 134,579 20,413 164,566 
(01, 02, 03, 07, 08, 09) Others 2,906,356 3,161,611 3,657,511 3,937,296 
(1) Beverages and tobacco 900,808 1,097,583 1,191,448 1,390,451 
(11) Beverages 230,182 255,151 286,944 318,343 
(12) Tobacco and tobacco 
manufactures 670,625 842,432 904,504 1,072,108 
(4) Animal and vegetable oils, fats and 
waxes 159,532 182,060 215,199 191,989 
(22) Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 861,534 1,060,542 123,037 1,007,858 
ii-Agricultural raw materials 1,071,655 967,825 990,189 999,962 
(21) Hides, skins and furskins, raw 3,882 3,533 670 4,630 
(23) Crude rubber (including 
synthetic, reclaimed) 60,369 54,035 57,785 51,177 
(24) Cork and wood 37,423 37,642 32,731 34,117 
(25) Pulp and waste paper 2,780 8,478 29,020 34,836 WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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    2011  2012  2013 2014  
(26) Textile fibres (other than wool 
tops) and their wastes 769,398 690,469 671,626 662,013 
(29) Crude animal  and vegetable 
materials, n.e.s. 172,785 173,669 192,324 213,187 
2-Mining products 1,241,486 13,721,230 13,452,279 12,490,806 
i-(27, 28) Metalliferous ores and metal 
scrap 3,128,715 3,344,546 4,115,458 3,728,154 
ii-Minerals fuels, lubricants and related 
materials (3) 6,538,909 7,707,792 6,724,347 6,110,786 
(32) Coal, coke and briquettes 6,421 7,050 5,790 10,033 
(33) Petroleum, petroleum products 
and related materials 6,027,699 6,964,703 6,173,962 5,602,199 
(34) Gas, natural and manufactured 35,605 545,837 515,647 409,718 
(35) Electric current 148,734 190,202 28,948 8,884 
ii-Non-ferrous metals (68) 2,747,236 2,668,892 2,612,475 2,651,866 
3-Manufactures 105,149,906 108,754,906 116,393,396 121,895,694 
i-Iron and steel (67) 12,836,901 1,309,299 11,550,880 10,768,567 
ii-Chemicals 8,045,636 8,911,209 9,451,536 1,009,444 
(57, 58) Plastics 4,391,845 483,589 4,930,120 5,253,845 
(54) Pharmaceutical products 618,600 717,776 813,596 849,434 
(51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 59) Other 
chemicals 3,035,192 335,754 3,707,820 3,991,161 
iii-Other semi-manufactures 13,960,360 14,416,884 15,448,613 16,224,377 
(61) Leather, leat her manufactures, 
n.e.s, and dressed 222,552 255,075 311,798 33,060 
(62) Rubber manufactures, n.e.s. 2,527,862 2,363,719 241,729 2,539,449 
(63) Cork and wood manufactures 
(excluding furniture) 616,218 620,823 692,572 820,080 
(64) Paper, paperboard and articles of 
paper pulp, of paper 136,833 1,597,824 185,884 1,902,196 
(66) Non-metallic mineral 
manufactures, n.e.s. 3,729,252 375,830 3,934,098 3,975,173 
(661) Lime, cement and 
fabricated construction 183,958 1,817,268 1,882,677 1,824,747 
(664, 665) Glass and glassware 912,538 891,034 931,317 1,003,875 
(66- (661+664+665)) Others 977,135 105,000 1,120,104 1,146,550 
(69) Manufactures of metals, n.e.s. 5,496,150 5,821,143 6,234,017 6,656,877 
iv-Machinery and transport equipment 37,441,570 37,431,686 41,022,159 42,746,749 
(781, 782, 783, 784, 7132, 7783) 
Automotive products 15,677,523 1,483,528 2,256,462 2,438,183 
(75, 76, 776) Office machines and 
telecommunications 2,243,856 2,667,371 16,765,064 17,495,098 
(71-713) Power generating machinery 803,646 847,759 859,748 949,194 
(72, 73, 74) Other non-electrical 
machinery 6,897,104 7,140,066 789,980 8,268,376 
(79, 785, 786, 7131, 7138, 7139) 
Other transport 3,425,271 3,235,289 3,943,805 4,232,739 
(77- (776+7783)) Electrical 
machinery and apparatus 8,394,171 8,705,924 9,297,282 9,363,159 
v- Textiles (65) 10,783,237 11,083,460 12,198,572 12,646,523 
vi- Clothing (84) 13,945,010 14,276,792 15,394,670 16,667,624 
(848.1, 848.3) Articles of apparels, 
clothing accessories & other 407,491 389,823 15,001,219 163,048,189 
(84- (848.1, 848.3)) Other clothing 
apparels 13,537,520 13,886,969 393,451 362,806 
vii-Other consumer goods (81, 82, 83, 85, 
87, 88, 89 (-891)) 8,137,191 9,541,885 11,326,966 1,274,741 
(81) Prefabricated buildings; sanitary, 
plumbing, heating and  1,434,568 1,516,451 1,633,355 1,642,246 WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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    2011  2012  2013 2014  
(82) Furniture, bedding, mattress 
supports and cushions 1,631,769 186,616 2,185,036 2,376,901 
(83) Travel good s, handbags and 
similar containers 186,523 197,245 191,139 195,908 
(85) Footwear 441,247 545,923 723,219 719,258 
(87) Professional, scientific and 
controlling instruments 390,520 489,686 594,747 627,161 
(88, 89- (891)) Other manufactured 
articles 4,052,565 4,926,417 5,999,470 7,185,940 
4- Other products (9+891) 2,062,966 13,991,950 4,217,688 4,476,760 
 
Table 3 Imports by Country Groups, 2011-14 
(Value $ '000) 
Country groups 2011  2012  2013 2014  
Total 240,841,676  236,545,141  251,661,250 242,177,117  
A-European Union (EU 28) 91,439,406  87,657,462  92,457,992 88,783,651  
B-Free Zones in Turkey 1,038,057  1,045,827  1,267,869 1,260,771  
C-Other countries 148,364,213  147,841,852  157,935,389 152,132 695  
  1-Other European Countries 35,668,228 37,206, 446 41,319,229 36,367,325 
  2-North African Countries 3,342,055 3,308,343 3,508,79 3,435,769 
  3-Other African Countries 3,424,658 2,613,447 2,522,630 2,502,192 
  4-North American Countries 17,345,670 15,084,268 13,952,865 13,834,992 
  5-Central America and Caraips 903,455 1,069,126 1,362,167 1,123,835 
  6-South American Countries 4,500,367 4,079,580 3,665,676 3,934,733 
  7-Near and Middle Eastern 20,439,413 21,410,008 22,214,051 20,480,465 
  8-Other Asian Countries 53,143,945 49,602,022 54,648,319 56,162,293 
  9-Australia and New Zealand 806,922 861,022 1,318,247 637,678 
 10-Other Countries 8,789,500 12,607,589 13,423,725 13,653,413 
D-Selected country groups     
 1-OECD Countries 121,327,626 113,723,573 124,206,736 116,518,208 
 2- EFTA Countries 5,845,716 5,238,265 10,652,294 5,716,743 
 3-Organization of the Blacksea 
Economic Cooperation 38,770,165 41,509,519 1,270,643 40,926,921 
 4- Organization for Economic 
Cooperation 17,305,837 16,429,472 4,802,005 13,443,503 
 5-Commonwealth of Independent 
States 33,159,169 35,248,191 34,000,176 33,085,484 
 6-Turkish Republics 3,642,096 3,558,042 3,600,058 2,997,231 
 7-Organization of Islamic 
Cooperation 31,417,773 31,690,284 32,074,294 29,107,197 
 
Table 4 Imports by Sectors, 2011-14 
(Value $ '000) 
  Year 2011  2012  2013 2014  
  Total 240,841,676  236,545,141  251,661,250 242,177,117  
0 Food and live animals 6,888,226  6,340,405  6,783,521 6,970,108  
0 Live animals other than animals 
of division 03 1,028,121 852,074 346,448 139,891 
1 Meat and meat preparations 514,810 99,743 29,279 12,106 
2 Dairy products and birds eggs 115,182 123,565 167,911 203,640 
3 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and 
aquatic invertebrates, and 
preparations thereof 175,565 178,133 187,281 197,458 
4 Cereals and cereal preparations 2,059,771 1,638,320 2,151,720 2,478,592 
5 Fruits and vegetables 952,315 908,794 936,791 1,085,534 
6 Sugar, sugar preparations and 
honey 63,956 97,604 107,221 127,834 WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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    Year 2011  2012  2013 2014  
7 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and 
manufactures thereof 614,584 606,003 665,863 724,228 
8 Feeding stuff for animals 859,318 1,327,984 1,594,689 1,330,961 
9 Miscellaneous edible products 
and preparations 504,603 508,185 596,316 669,864 
1 Beverages and tobacco 551,182  638,585  702,883 792,089  
11 Beverages 150,682 151,157 196,959 228,409 
12 Tobacco and tobacco 
manufactures 400,500 487,427 505,924 563,680 
2 Crude materials, inedible, 
except fuels 20,051,875  18,630,141  16,797,621 6,974,903  
21 Hides,skins and furskins, raw  9,065 406,932 380,540 242,475 
22 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 1,541,130 1,497,782 1,474,197 2,099,510 
23 Crude rubber(including 
synthetic, reclaimed) 1,650,181 1,252,745 1,102,413 971,014 
24 Cork and wood 604,821 718,407 605,490 659,586 
25 Pulp and waste paper 602,625 560,063 645,109 683,453 
26 Textile fibres (other than wool 
tops) and their wastes 3,338,951 2,691,826 2,990,898 3,094,256 
27 Crude fertilizers and crude ores 
(excluding coal, petroleum and 
precious stones) 447,509 428,273 397,787 425,443 
28 Metalliferous ores and metal 
scrap 11,141,615 10,754,079 8,841,704 8,438,882 
29 Crude animal and vegetable 
materials, n.e.s 315,978 320,035 359,482 360,284 
3 Mineral fuels, lubricants and 
related materials 54,116,788  60,115,790  55,916,327 54,889,014  
32 Coal, coke and briquettes 1,418,402 1,264,901 1,052,452 919,256 
33 Petroleum, petroleum products 
and related materials 15,245,939 16,179,248 16,115,561 16,087,923 
34 Gas, natural and manufactured 2,973,590 2,945,722 2,734,485 2,677,440 
35 Electrical energy 86,565 255,377 334,202 438, 826 
39 Confidential data 34,392,292 39,470,543 35,679,626 34,765,569 
4 Animal and vegetable oils, 
fats and waxes 1,672,293  1,943,070  1,871,414 2,186,991  
41 Animal oils and fats 148,778 160,013 129,891 138,905 
42 Fixed vegetable fats and oils, 
crude refined or fractionated 1,351,268 1,611,868 1,590,086 1,875,541 
43 Animal and vegetable fats and 
oils, processed; waxes of animal or vegetable origin; 
inedible mixtures  172,247 171,189 151,436 172,545 
5 Chemicals and related 
products, n.e.s. 31,191,131  29,685,710  31,872,763 33,211,207  
51 Organic chemicals 5,282,880 4,882,791 5,158,573 5,728,564 
52 Inorganic chemicals 1,704,806 1,576,709 1,573,375 1,571,904 
53 Dyeing, tanning and colouring 
materials 1,895,743 1,830,143 1,961,594 2,112,021 
54 Medicinal and pharmaceutical 
products 5,083,140 4,343,089 4,488,309 4,735,197 
55 Essential oils,resinoids and 
perfume materials; toilet, 
polishing 1,626,096 1,602,639 1,748,160 1,807,345 
56 Fertilizers (other than those of 
group 272) 1,366,998 1,375,133 1,484,545 1,461,307 
57 Plastics in primary forms 9,932,193 9,928,996 10,978,701 11,064,428 
58 Plastics in non-primary forms 1,564,778 1,584,321 1,778,851 1,880,166 
59 Chemical materials and 
products, n.e.s 2,734,96 2,561,887 2,700,656 2,850,276 WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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    Year 2011  2012  2013 2014  
6 Manufactured goods 
classified chiefly by material 38,429,471  36,040,246  38,713,495 38,447,387  
61 Leather, leather manufactures, 
n.e.s. and dressed furskins 420,042 386,321 420,304 372,686 
62 Rubber manufactures, n.e.s. 1,606,595 1,673,999 1,850,808 1,775,678 
63 Cork and wood manufactures 
(excluding furniture) 830,467 909,275 965,692 835 429 
64 Paper, paperboard and articles 
of paper pulp, of paper or of 
paperboard 2,907,415 2,769,297 2,956,005 3,038,312 
65 Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up 
articles, n.e.s. and related 
products 7,719,373 6,593,624 6,961,543 7,299,687 
66 Non-metallic mineral 
manufactures, n.e.s. 1,677,938 1,559,252 1,832,054 2,022,664 
67 Iron and steel 11,544,555 11,095,886 12,193,350 11,302,409 
68 Non-ferrous metals 8,186,239 7,680,993 7,720,034 7,905,211 
69 Manufactures of metals, n.e.s. 3,536,848 3,371,598 3,813,706 3,895,311 
7 Machinery  and transport 
equipment 67,076,761  61,605,751  68,407,431 65,809,044  
71 Power generating machineries 
and equipments 6,894,605 6,806,170 8,120,069 6,998,469 
72 Machineries specialized for 
particular industries 7,789,907 7,522,940 7,942,269 7,644,480 
73 Metal working machineries 1,850,977 1,738,651 1,711,758 1,701,062 
74 General industrial machineries 
and equipments, n.e.s. and 
machine parts, n.e.s. 8,985,518 8,710,331 10,527,131 9,670,823 
75 Office machines and automatic 
data processing machines 3,288,420 3,340,932 3,750,753 3,755,324 
76 Telecommunications and sound 
recording and reproducing 
apparatus and equipments 5,245,779 5,863,006 7,139,193 7,744,094 
77 Electrical machineries, 
apparatus and appliances, n.e.s. and electrical parts 
thereof 10,062,858 8,735,578 8,877,360 8,831,555 
78 Road vehicles (including air-
cushion vehicles) 16,782,187 14,184,643 16,493,566 15,400,778 
79 Other transport equipments 6,176,511 4,703,501 3,845,332 4,062,460 
8 Miscellaneous manufactured 
articles 14,137,608  13,153,325  15,124,166 15,497,924  
81 Prefabricated buildings; 
sanitary, plumbing, heating and 
lighting fixtures and fittings, 
n.e.s. 758,389 665,441 781,807 815,117 
82 Furniture, bedding, mattress 
supports and cushions  909,095 790,358 942,186 954,390 
83 Travel goods, handbags and 
similar containers 353,409 334,646 404,009 415,983 
84 Articles of apparel and clothing 
accessories 3,271,400 2,677,193 3,139,987 3,228,716 
85 Footwear 871,464 863,682 992,947 953,894 
87 Professional, scientific and 
controlling instruments and 
apparatus, n.e.s. 2,974,654 2,933,790 3,283,654 3,511,801 
88 Photographic apparatus, 
equipments and supplies and 
optical goods, watches and 
clocks 906,998 846,052 962,380 994,886 
89 Miscellaneous manufactured 
articles, n.e.s. 4,092,199 4,042,162 4,617,195 4,623,138 WT/TPR/G/331 • Turkey 
 
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    Year 2011  2012  2013 2014  
9 Commodities and 
transactions not classified 
elsewhere in the SITC 6,726,341 8,392,119 15,471,630 7,398,451 
93 Special transactions and 
commodities not classified 
according to kind 0 2 1 287,696 
96 Coins (other than gold) ,not 
being legal tender 6,253,841 7,641,098 15,127,241 5 
97 Gold, non-monetary (excluding 
gold ores and concentrates) 472,500 751,019 344,388 7,110,750 
99 Other goods not classified 
elsewhere    - 
 
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