Enhanced Free Trade Agreement: Turkey

The fifth round of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement with Turkey took place in Ankara between 15 and 23 June 2026.

Economic growth is our first mission in Government, and free trade agreements have an important role to play in achieving it. A stronger trade relationship with Turkey can support jobs and prosperity in the UK, with trade between the two totalling £28.4 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2025—an increase of 4.3% from the previous year.

To support this round of negotiations, I travelled to Turkey to meet with the Minister of Trade, Professor Dr Ömer Bolat, and Deputy Minister of Trade, Mustafa Tuzcu.

Negotiations were constructive, with positive progress being made in a number of areas.

Productive discussions were held across a range of technical areas, including digital trade, domestic regulation and telecommunications. The investment session saw valuable exchanges, reflecting the shared ambition and good will between both sides. Particularly strong progress was made in legal services, among other areas. Across sessions, negotiators engaged in detailed text-based discussions, testing areas of alignment, exploring respective levels of ambition, and identifying outstanding issues. Both sides continued to engage productively, building on progress made in previous rounds.

Negotiations covered a range of market access and regulatory issues, including goods market access and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, along with others. Discussions focused on reviewing respective proposals, testing areas of alignment, and identifying remaining gaps, while maintaining and upholding the UK’s high standards. Both sides reached agreement on modalities for market access offers. These sessions were positive and productive with both sides seeking a high ambition outcome to support businesses and drive progress forward.

Wider cross-cutting discussions covered intellectual property, Government procurement, trade remedies, environment, state-owned enterprises, among others, with intellectual property discussions in particular picking up pace—signalling a growing shared focus on this area. Key themes included strengthening protection and enforcement of intellectual property, as well as environmental co-operation and sustainability.

After five rounds of negotiations negotiating, teams have closed 11 chapters, along with agreement on multiple annexes and associated issues. They have made substantial progress towards an agreement that will strengthen bilateral trade and create the enabling environment that can increase UK exports to Turkey, supporting jobs across UK nations and regions.