Türkiye’s exports to the United States reached $2.97 billion (TL 57.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2023, according to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM).

This represents a 2.5% increase compared to the same period last year.

Türkiye’s total exports reached $61.59 billion in the year’s first three months.

The U.S. was the second-largest trading partner for Türkiye during this period, accounting for 5.46% of the country’s total exports.

The chemical and product exports to the U.S. reached $278.5 million in the first quarter of 2023, making it the top destination for these exports.

These exports were made from 68 cities across Türkiye, with Istanbul accounting for the largest share, followed by western Izmir province, capital Ankara, southeastern Gaziantep, and northwestern Bursa.

In the first quarter, companies in Istanbul achieved $1.22 billion in export sales to the U.S., while those in Izmir exported goods worth $281.8 million.

TIM Chairperson Mustafa Gültepe said the U.S. is the world’s largest importing country, with $2.9 trillion in imports in 2022. Therefore, despite the geographical distance, the U.S. market is significant in Türkiye’s exports.

Gültepe noted that Türkiye’s exports to the U.S. had increased by 2.5 times over the past decade, while foreign trade volume had increased by 1.6 times. He added that there had been a notable increase in exports to the U.S. since 2020, with the country ranking second in terms of Türkiye’s most exported countries in 2022 with $9 billion.

This marks the highest annual value of exports to the U.S. for Türkiye.

"This significant increase in exports to the U.S. reflects Türkiye’s growing competitiveness in the global market and its strong trade relations with the U.S.," said Gültepe.

Gültepe noted that the effects of the anticipated global trade contraction were visible in the U.S. market.

Despite this, he said the U.S. maintained its position as Türkiye’s second-largest export market in the year’s first quarter.

Looking at the sectors that performed well in the first quarter, chemical materials topped the list with $279 million in exports to the U.S., Gültepe said, noting that the automotive industry followed this with $259 million, jewelry with $223 million, and ready-made clothing and clothing products with $215 million.

Gültepe also highlighted the strong performance of the defense and aerospace industry, which achieved $209 million in exports to the U.S., making it one of the top five sectors for exports to the U.S.

Gültepe emphasized he believes that Türkiye, a brand country in production, has the potential to increase its share in the U.S. market at least three times the current one and that they, as TIM, are doing all their work from this perspective.

Noting that both TIM and exporters’ associations carry out special projects for the U.S. market, Gültepe said: "For example, we organized a trade delegation with wide participation to the U.S. on Feb. 26-March 3. We offered over 100 B2B meetings to the representatives of our companies from many sectors, especially textile, carpet, and furniture, with 30 leading companies in the U.S."

"Despite the contraction in consumption and the negative impact of the exchange rate on our competitiveness, we continue to work day and night to increase our exports to the U.S. and all our markets," he said.