Despite global challenges and disruptions caused by the pandemic, the trade volume between Türkiye and the European Union maintained a positive momentum in the past half decade, increasing substantially over the years.
Looking at the last year, Türkiye kept its position as the fifth largest partner of the EU, continuing the trend seen in 2023. Moreover, it was observed that its trade volume with the bloc increased by 59% over the past five years.
In light of recent security and trade concerns, particularly originating from the U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff rhetoric, Ankara's role for the Brussels has came to the forefront.
In response to Trump’s shifting stance toward Europe, the development related to Russia-Ukraine war, the EU sought new partners or aimed to strengthen ties with existing ones in both economic and defense sectors, revitalizing dialogue with some countries, including Türkiye, which is not an EU member.
Despite being a candidate for years and issues such as visa mechanism, Türkiye's trade ties with the EU have been strong, witnessed by the figures as well.
Amid geopolitical tensions and rising protectionist tendencies in global trade policies, which have created significant uncertainties, Türkiye’s place among the EU's trade partners has become more notable in recent years.
According to data from the European statistical office (Eurostat) compiled by the Anadolu Agency (AA), the EU's imports from non-member countries fell to 1.715 trillion euros ($1.87 trillion), and exports to these countries dropped to 1.932 trillion euros in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the EU's external trade volume in 2020 amounted to 3.647 trillion euros.
With the easing of the pandemic’s effects on foreign trade, the EU's external trade volume rose to 5.577 trillion euros in 2022. However, due to the economic recession in the region, this figure dropped to 5.018 trillion euros last year.
At the end of last year, the U.S. remained the EU's largest trade partner, with a trade volume of nearly 865 billion euros. China, the world’s largest exporter, holds the second position in the EU's external trade, with trade volume reaching 731.15 billion euros by the end of 2024.
The U.K. follows with 504.8 billion euros, and Switzerland comes next with 329.85 billion euros. Türkiye, on the other hand, ranks fifth with a trade volume of nearly 210.8 billion euros.
Meanwhile, the EU remains Türkiye’s largest trade partner.
Recently, Türkiye has developed its relations with EU member countries through the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) and various reciprocal visits.
Negotiations to update the Customs Union with the EU have also gained momentum as part of Türkiye’s commercial diplomacy efforts. Accordingly, these initiatives appear to be reflected in the foreign trade figures.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Türkiye's trade volume with the EU was around 138 billion euros, but this dropped to nearly 132.6 billion euros in 2020.
In the following years, the trade volume showed a steady increase, reaching 157.13 billion euros in 2021, 198.4 billion euros in 2022, and close to 207.3 billion euros in 2023.
Last year, the trade volume, as mentioned reached 210.8 billion euros. Thus, between 2020 and 2024, the foreign trade volume between Türkiye and the EU increased by 59%.
