The third round of negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Turkey took place in Ankara during the week commencing 17 November 2025.
The UK and Turkey have a strong economic relationship, with trade between the two totalling around £28 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025, making Turkey the UK’s 17th largest trading partner. Trade with Turkey’s growing market of 86 million people directly supported around 57,100 jobs across the UK in 2020.
Economic growth is our first mission in government and FTAs have an important role to play in achieving this. A stronger trade relationship with Turkey will contribute to jobs and prosperity in the UK.
Negotiations were productive, with positive progress being made in a number of areas including Financial Services, Professional and Business Services, Domestic Regulation and Entry and Temporary Stay.
Discussions on Goods Market Access focused on unlocking commercially meaningful opportunities for UK exporters. Progress was also made on Customs and Trade Facilitation, as well as Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
Further exchanges advanced work on Labour, Anti-Corruption, Environment, Good Regulatory Practice, Dispute Settlement and Intellectual Property enforcement, as well as approaches on Government Procurement, State Owned Enterprises, Subsidies and Trade Remedies, which were further refined to build common understanding.
The UK will only ever sign a trade agreement which aligns with the UK’s national interests, upholding our high standards across a range of sectors, including protections for the National Health Service.
The fourth round of negotiations is expected to take place in early 2026. Ministers will update Parliament on the progress of discussions with Turkey as they continue to progress.
