Ankara, Turkey - U.S. Government officials met on January 24 in Ankara,
Turkey, with their Turkish Government counterparts for the fourth meeting under
the United States-Turkey Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
The meeting was led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the
Middle East Shaun Donnelly and Turkish Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade Tuncer
Kayalar. During these productive meetings, the two sides discussed the full
range of bilateral issues as well as coordination on multilateral issues. The
agenda covered priority trade issues for both countries, including improving
market access for U.S. agricultural products, strengthening Turkey’s protection
and enforcement of intellectual property rights, and addressing taxation and
business climate issues affecting U.S. companies. In addition, the two sides
discussed key issues related to the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations. On
the margins of the meeting, the U.S. delegation also met with Turkish officials
at the Ministry of Agriculture as well as with Turkish business representatives.
Two-way trade in goods between the United States and Turkey totaled $8.3
billion in 2004, with the figure estimated to have climbed in 2005 to $9.5
billion. The U.S.-Turkey Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) was
signed in 1999.
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