EU AND TÜRKIYE HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE ON TRADE
On 8th June Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis and Türkiye’s Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat convened in Brussels for the inaugural meeting of a High-Level Dialogue on Trade. EU and Türkiye a bilateral trade flow reached 206 billion EUR in 2023 and as a candidate country, Türkiye remains a critical trade partner for the EU.
During the dialogue significant progress has been made in resolving trade barriers, thanks to the dedicated efforts of a bilateral trade working group. Key topics of cooperation discussed included the green transition, particularly the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), digital trade, and trade defence. The dialogue also addressed business mobility and the road transport quotas imposed by EU Member States on Turkish hauliers. Additionally, both parties shared views on preventing the circumvention of EU sanctions via the Customs Union.
An important outcome of the meeting is the agreement to continue engagement on mutually identified issues.
Notably, starting from 8 July 2024, EU Member States will accept electronically issued A.TR movement certificates from Turkish authorities, featuring a QR code and no wet-ink signature, pending the adoption of a decision by the EU–Türkiye Customs Cooperation Committee. More information on electronically issued A.TR movement certificates can be found in the relevant Note of the European Commission.