U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets Arun Venkataraman on Sunday expressed optimism about the potential for significant growth in trade between the United States and Türkiye, highlighting the importance of the "deep strategic partnership" between the two countries.
"I think we are at a unique turning point in history. We have such a deep strategic partnership," Arun Venkataraman said in his interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) sharing his assessment of Türkiye-U.S. trade relations.
Underlining the decadeslong presence of many American companies in Türkiye, Venkataraman said the country was on a "great trajectory," with a "real opportunity for the U.S.-Turkish business to grow exponentially."
On the goal to achieve a $100 billion trade volume between the United States and Türkiye, he said it was attainable "given the depth of commercial relations, given the entrepreneurship that exists in both countries."
Venkataraman also stressed that both Ankara and Washington needed to work toward this goal. "We have to set the right policies in place to make sure we can encourage trade between our peoples."
An annual U.S. trade conference titled Trade Winds is scheduled to take place in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul in May, he said, adding that the U.S. trade delegation would be the largest yet attending the conference.
"We hope to really be able to expand U.S.-Turkish business ties with concrete connections between companies, and we think that's a good first step towards attaining that goal," Venkataraman expressed about the conference.
According to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Türkiye's exports to the U.S. reached $16.9 billion last year, while imports from the country amounted to $15.2 billion.
This resulted in a trade volume of over $32 billion between the two nations, surpassing the approximately $28 billion recorded in 2021.
Chemicals were the leading category in Türkiye's exports to the U.S., followed by automotive, steel and the ready-to-wear apparel industry.
Türkiye and the U.S. aim for $100 billion in bilateral trade, a target endorsed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his American counterpart, Joe Biden.
The economic relations between Türkiye and the United States have maintained pace in the past couple of years despite political disagreements on several issues including stalled F-16 sales.