WASHINGTON — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said Tuesday Turkey is a “priority market” for U.S. exports and will play a key role in supporting President Obama’s goal of doubling exports in five years to $3.14 trillion.
The two countries unveiled several initiatives aimed at boosting trade at the end of an inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Turkey Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation here on Tuesday.
Among the initiatives was the creation of a U.S.-Turkey Business Council, the establishment of a working group on intellectual property rights and two trade missions to Turkey in 2011. The high-level talks stem from a meeting between Obama and Turkish President Abdullah Gul in April 2009.
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Turkey is the 15th-largest supplier of textiles and apparel to the U.S., with imports of 500 million square meter equivalents for the year ending Aug. 31, according to the Commerce Department.
“The United States and Turkey each have a strong incentive to pursue an intensified bilateral economic relationship,” said Locke, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and Turkish Minister of State for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan, in a joint statement.