Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank wrapped up her
visit to Turkey today after co-chairing the second meeting
of the U.S.-Turkey Framework for Strategic Economic and
Commercial Cooperation (FSECC) with U.S. Trade
Representative Ron Kirk in Ankara yesterday. The Turkish
delegation was led by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and
Minister of the Economy Zafer Caglayan.
The FSECC was created following the first meeting between
President Obama and Turkish President Gul in April 2009.
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.The
meeting focused on opportunities for increased bilateral
trade and investment relations to create jobs in both
countries, and the ministers agreed on several concrete
steps to advance the U.S-Turkish commercial relationship.
The Acting Secretary promoted increased Foreign Direct
Investment, including calling for greater Turkish FDI to
the U.S., highlighting Commerce's SelectUSA initiative.
The four principals made a
joint statement after the meeting.
During the meeting, Acting Secretary Blank announced that
the Commerce Department's International Trade
Administration will lead an Aerospace and Defense Industry
Trade Mission to Turkey in December 2012. She also
applauded the work that has been done so far to increase
bilateral trade between the U.S. and Turkey. Sheemphasized
the work that must be done to continue to advance the
U.S.-Turkey trade relationship, such as overcoming market
access barriers, furthering cooperation on intellectual
property rights, and enabling businesses to take advantage
of opportunities in key sectors such as renewable energy,
financial services, and infrastructure.
Acting Secretary Blank spoke about the commitmentsmade by
both sides that will lead to an even stronger partnership
between the U.S. and Turkey - and even greater prosperity
for people of both countries. These commitments include
holding a World Bank Ease of Doing Business Symposium, as
well asa Symposium on Infrastructure Cooperation. She
alsomade a strong push for both governments to listen to
the advice and recommendations of the U.S.-Turkey Business
Council.She highlighted the commitment of the U.S. to
ensuring that these efforts remain on track, in addition to
future efforts to bring new ideas to the forefront in
strengthening the commercial relationship between the two
countries.
Also at FSECC, Leocadia I. Zak, Director of the U.S. Trade
and Development Agency (USTDA), part of the U.S. delegation
and participating in the energy and transportation sessions
at the FSECC,
announced that USTDA will host a smart grid workshop in
Turkey this winter that will connect U.S. technology
providers to the public and private sectors in Turkey.
In addition to co-chairing the FSECC, Blank participated in
the grand opening of the American Business Center in
Ankara, which will house the new offices of the Foreign
Commercial Service in Ankara. She noted that the Center,
which is located in the same building asthe Ankara Chamber
of Industry, willhelp strengthen thebonds between private
industries in both countries. At both FSECC and throughout
the day, Blank advocated for U.S. companies that are
seeking to do business with Turkey, stressing the high
quality and competitive advantages that U.S. companies
offer.
As the world's fastest growing economy during the first
quarter of 2011, Turkey represents a market with great
potential.Turkey has been designated as a priority market
under President Obama's National Export Initiative and
has, as a result, been the focus of sustained International
Trade Administration and U.S. Government efforts, including
targeted trade promotion. U.S.-Turkish trade grew by 34
percent last year, reaching a record high of almost $20
billion. Furthermore, U.S. exports to Turkey rose 38
percent, totaling $14.6 billion and making Turkey one of
the top 25 U.S. export markets.
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