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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