Erdoğan calls for update to EU customs deal

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for an update to the long-standing customs union agreement between Türkiye and the European Union, as he celebrated a year of record-breaking trade figures for the country.

"Türkiye has become the fifth largest trading partner of the European Union, and our trade volume has reached $232.7 billion in 2025," Erdoğan said on Jan. 3 at an event at the Istanbul Congress Center.

He noted that exports to the bloc rose 7.8 percent last year to reach $117 billion.

"The modernization of the Customs Union is now inevitable for the sustainable development of our trade relations. We hope that the European Union will obtain the necessary authorization from the Council and start negotiations with our country without further delay," Erdoğan said.

"We expect the European Union not to distort the nature of trade between us with protectionist reflexes and to remain faithful to our partnership law. We will resolutely continue to take all steps to protect the competitiveness of our industrialists, especially in the face of unilateral regulations."

The existing trade agreement, which went into effect Dec. 31, 1995, allows for the free movement of goods without customs restrictions.

According to the president, Türkiye’s goods exports rose 4.5 percent over the previous year to $273.4 billion, marked by a record-setting December that saw $26.4 billion in exports.

"Thus, we achieved the highest annual export figure in the history of the [Turkish] republic," Erdoğan said.

In the services sector, the president reported a net increase of $6 billion. He estimated that annual services exports reached $123.1 billion, bringing the combined total for goods and services to $396.5 billion for 2025.

Beyond the European market, Erdoğan highlighted growth across several global regions. Exports to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation members amounted to $73.7 billion, while trade with the United States, Canada and Mexico reached approximately $19.2 billion.

Additionally, exports to Turkic states totaled $11 billion and non-EU Balkan countries accounted for $5.6 billion.

The Customs Union currently requires Türkiye to align with the EU’s acquis communautaire in several essential internal market areas, including industrial standards. A 2020 study indicated the deal increased manufacturing trade between the two entities by 55 to 65 percent compared to the 1963 Ankara Agreement, which originally provided the framework for cooperation between the two parties.