WIREDGOV

18 July saw the Government initiate talks with Turkey to refresh the outdated FTA between the two states’, helping to boost trade within new economy sectors including digital technology, hardware, and High-Powered Computing generators

See link to the Government’s announcement here.

Key highlights include;

• UK and Turkey announce intention to start talks on a new, modernised free trade agreement;
• Deal designed to boost an already thriving trade relationship, worth £23.5 billion in 2022[1], with key trading sectors including services, digital and data. The UK is the second biggest services exporter in the world – behind only the US, and the services sector contributes around 80% of the UK’s GDP.

The UK-Turkey Joint Committee consisting of the UK’s Chief Negotiator and officials from both sides – responsible for overseeing implementation of the current agreement met in Ankara, Turkey’s capital city to formally conclude the review of the current agreement and move towards renegotiation of the refreshed FTA.

The deal would replace the existing UK-Turkey FTA, covering new areas of post-Brexit digital trade provisions in securing anti-localisation cross-border data-transfers measures, R&D collaboration facilitation, technical policy convergence in blockchain design, Fin-Tech regulatory alignment, and digitalising trade documentation measures.

The upcoming negotiations aim to create a modernised FTA that fosters greater competitiveness, offers business opportunities across various sectors, and strengthens the partnership between both states. Greater market conditions for trade will subsequently result in greater investment opportunities for the UK’s digital economy, facilitating business partnerships between both states’ innovative start-ups and scale-ups.

techUK continues to welcome the Government’s efforts in building the UK’s network of international trading partnerships, resulting in businesses’ abilities to trade their innovative digital goods and services to rising economies such as Turkey’s.