UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch met with her Turkish counterpart Omer Bolat on Thursday in London for talks on an updated post-Brexit deal.
Badenoch said she was “delighted to be launching trade negotiations with Turkey – an important economic and strategic partner to the UK.”
The existing 2021 deal is widely similar to the previous EU deal reached in the 1990s, and the UK seeks to update the agreement with a highlight on the service sector.
Trade between Turkey and the UK was worth 26 billion pounds in 2022 when the services sector only accounted for 27 percent of British exports to Turkey.
The Department for Business and Trade said a new deal could improve the services sector and give British consumers enhanced access to imported Turkish agricultural products, such as nuts, bulgar wheat, and tomatoes.
Post-Brexit Britain has signed three trade agreements, including Australia, New Zealand, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a bloc including 11 Asia-Pacific nations.
