The Turkish government should act to eliminate barriers for U.S. companies to invest in Turkey, said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker in Istanbul on Tuesday. In her first visit to Turkey as U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Pritzker attended the American Business Forum for Turkey's 10th Anniversary Gala in Istanbul's Ritz Carlton Hotel where she said that bilateral economic relations of the two countries were not at the level it should be.

Pritzker said that qualified and committed companies that want to invest and create jobs here have neither participated in tenders nor even entered the market. She urged the Turkish government to "act to adopt rules that promote non-discrimination, fair competition and transparency in government procurement."

Another challenge according to Pritzker is Turkey's commercial offsets in health care, medical equipment and commercial aircraft components as they are an "impediment for both American and other foreign firms to access the Turkish market." Pritzker stressed that getting a 'certification in a timely manner' from the government - specifically, the Health Ministry's certifying body, was also an obstacle for U.S. manufacturing companies in Turkey.