Turkey’s trade volume with the European Union increased by 59 percent in the last 5 years. In 2024, Turkey continued to be the 5th largest trading partner of the union. US President Donald Trump’s tariff rhetoric highlighted Turkey’s role in the trade security of the European Union (EU). Faced with Trump’s stance towards Europe, the EU sought new partners or improved existing ones in both economic and defense fields. In line with this, the EU revitalized dialogue with some countries, including non-Union member Turkey. Amid geopolitical tensions and rising protectionist tendencies in trade policies causing significant global uncertainties, Turkey’s position among the Union’s trading partners has been noteworthy in recent years. TRADE WITH EU EXCEEDS 5 TRILLION EUROS According to data from the European Statistics Office (Eurostat), in 2020, the EU countries’ imports from non-member countries decreased to 1.715 trillion euros and exports to such countries also fell to 1.932 trillion euros due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, the EU’s foreign trade volume in 2020 amounted to 3.647 trillion euros. As the pandemic’s impact on foreign trade lessened, the EU’s foreign trade volume reached 5.577 trillion euros in 2022, but due to the economic downturn in the region, it dropped to 5.018 trillion euros last year. THE US IS THE EU’S LARGEST TRADING PARTNER The United States was the EU’s largest trading partner as of the end of last year with a trade volume of 864.976 million euros. China, the world’s largest exporter, ranked second in external trade volume with the EU. China’s trade with the EU reached 731.153 million euros by the end of 2024. Following these countries were the United Kingdom with 504.763 million euros and Switzerland with 329.850 million euros. Turkey, with 210.783 million euros, ranked 5th. Turkey maintained its position as the “5th largest trading partner of the EU” in 2024 with the mentioned trade volume, a position it regained in 2023. The EU, on the other hand, is Turkey’s largest trading partner. TRADE VOLUME INCREASED BY 59 PERCENT IN 5 YEARS Turkey has been strengthening its relations with EU member countries through the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) and various mutual visits while accelerating negotiations to update the Customs Union within the scope of trade diplomacy activities. These initiatives have also been reflected in foreign trade figures. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Turkey’s trade volume with the EU was around 138 billion euros, which decreased to 132.595 million euros in 2020. In the following years, the foreign trade volume showed a regular increase, reaching 157.129 million euros in 2021, 198.408 million euros in 2022, and 207.289 million euros in 2023. Last year, the trade volume reached 210.783 million euros. Thus, between 2020 and 2024, the foreign trade volume between Turkey and the EU increased by 59 percent.