Oct022014
Trade and InvestmentPresident's Export Council (PEC)Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation (FSECC)
Posted at 5:05 PM
After a productive stop in Poland, Secretary Pritzker traveled to Turkey with CEOs from the President’s Export Council (PEC) to explore opportunities for U.S. firms interested in the market and address outstanding challenges to expanding bilateral trade and investment.
While the United States and Turkey have sustained deep strategic and diplomatic ties for decades, both countries want to expand their economic and commercial relationship. In 2009, President Obama visited Turkey and established the Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation (FSECC) with then-Prime Minister of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan. The two leaders tasked the U.S. and Turkish governments to create a framework to help substantially increase the trade and investment flows between both countries to help strengthen the economic dimension of our partnership. Now, Secretary Pritzker and the PEC CEOs -- serving as commercial ambassadors -- are working to expand and strengthen this relationship through meetings with Turkish government and business leaders in Istanbul and Ankara.
In Istanbul, Secretary Pritzker delivered remarks to more than 200 Turkish business leaders and guests at the AmCham/American Business Forum in Turkey (ABFT) 10th Anniversary gala. She noted that progress has been made in the U.S.-Turkey commercial relationship, with total bilateral trade in 2013 just under $20 billion.
She also stressed three challenges U.S. businesses face in the Turkish market that must be addressed: greater transparency in government procurement; commercial offsets – a policy that forces companies to produce locally; and the ability to obtain Good Manufacturing Practices certification. Ilker Ayci, President of Turkey’s Investment Promotion Agency, also shared Secretary Pritzker’s sentiment that the United States and Turkey must work together now to address current obstacles.
Secretary Pritzker and the PEC members also met with the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) for a roundtable discussion during their trip. TUSIAD Chairman Haluk Dincer and fellow board members shared their perspectives on the economy, business environment, bilateral economic relations, and the political environment, offering an in-depth look at how Turkish businesses want to improve the commercial relationship with the United States. In Ankara, Secretary Pritzker and the PEC met with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB).
Meeting directly with Turkish business leaders gave Secretary Pritzker and the PEC multiple opportunities to examine the economic relationship, and all parties agreed that the time is now to address market challenges. Later this year, members of the PEC will produce a report on their findings from the mission, which will be presented to President Obama. Eight PEC members – including Vice Chair Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation – joined Secretary Pritzker and Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan M. Selig on the mission.