Over the past 5 years, Turkey has seen a 59% increase in trade volume with the European Union. In 2024, Turkey continued to hold its position as the EU’s 5th largest trading partner. The rhetoric of US President Donald Trump regarding customs tariffs has brought Turkey to the forefront of the EU’s trade security interests. In light of Trump’s stance towards Europe, the EU has sought new partners in both economic and defense fields or aimed to enhance existing partnerships, leading to revived dialogues with some non-member countries such as Turkey. Amid rising protectionist tendencies in trade policies and geopolitical tensions that have caused significant global uncertainty, Turkey’s recent position among the Union’s trade partners is noteworthy. EUROPEAN UNION TRADING EXCEEDS €5 TRILLION According to data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), in 2020, the EU countries’ imports from non-member countries decreased to €1.715 trillion, and exports to these countries dropped to €1.932 trillion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the EU’s total external trade volume in 2020 reached €3.647 trillion. As the pandemic’s impact on foreign trade lessened, the EU’s external trade volume increased to €5.577 trillion in 2022 but dropped to €5.018 trillion last year, coinciding with the economic slowdown in the region. THE US REMAINS THE LARGEST TRADING PARTNER OF THE EU The US held the position of the largest trading partner of the EU as of the end of last year with a trade volume of €864.976 billion. China, the world’s largest exporter, ranks second in the EU’s external trade volume, which reached €731.153 billion by the end of 2024. Following these countries were the United Kingdom with €504.763 billion and Switzerland with €329.850 billion. Turkey found itself in fifth place with €210.783 billion. Turkey maintained its position as the “EU’s 5th largest trading partner” in 2024 with this trade volume, which it had regained in 2023. The EU, on the other hand, is the largest trading partner of Turkey. TRADE VOLUME UP 59% IN 5 YEARS Turkey has been deepening its relations with EU member countries through the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) and various reciprocal visits while gaining momentum in the negotiations to update the Customs Union with the EU within the scope of its commercial diplomacy activities. These initiatives have been reflected in foreign trade figures. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkey’s trade volume with the EU was around €138 billion, but this amount decreased to €132.595 billion in 2020. In the following years, the foreign trade volume consistently increased to €157.129 billion in 2021, €198.408 billion in 2022, and €207.289 billion in 2023. Last year, trade volume reached €210.783 billion. Thus, from 2020 to 2024, the foreign trade volume between Turkey and the EU saw a 59% increase.