Türkiye, as a party to the GATT, conducts Free Trade Agreements in line with Article XXIV of GATT 1947. According to this Article, Türkiye may grant favorable treatment to its trading partners within a customs union or a free trade area without extending such treatment to all WTO members, subject to certain conditions.

Without prejudice to WTO provisions, the Türkiye-EU customs union constitutes the major legal basis of Türkiye’s free trade agreements (FTA). Under the customs union, Türkiye aligns its commercial policy with the EU’s Common Commercial Policy. This alignment concerns both autonomous regimes and preferential agreements with third countries. Türkiye negotiates and concludes free trade agreements with third countries in parallel with the EU. Together with the EU Common Customs Tariff, the preferential trade regimes constitute the most important part of the trade policy applied towards third countries.

Türkiye has concluded FTAs with 38 countries; however, 11 were repealed upon their accession to the EU. Currently, Türkiye has 24 FTAs in force; namely, EFTA, Israel, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Albania, Georgia, Montenegro, Serbia, Chile, Mauritius, South Korea, Malaysia, Moldova, Faroe Islands, Singapore, Kosovo, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, the UAE and Qatar. The FTAs signed with Lebanon, Sudan and Ukraine are under ratification process.

Also, Türkiye has been conducting negotiations to extend the scope of its existing FTAs with an aim to update and deepen their scope. To this extent, FTAs with EFTA, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Malaysia have been updated, the negotiations with Georgia have been concluded.

Meanwhile, there are specific countries/country blocs that Türkiye has started FTA negotiations. Türkiye has been actively engaged in negotiations with 2 of them; namely Indonesia and Japan. Türkiye continues its efforts to speed up the process for our remaining ongoing FTA negotiations with Gulf Cooperation Council. Türkiye also has 4 Preferential Trade Agreements (TTAs) in force with Iran, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

The Türkiye-EU customs union eliminated custom duties and quantitative restrictions. As a result of the customs union, Türkiye opened its internal market to EU and third-country competition, while securing free access to the EU market. In addition, Türkiye has sought to align itself to the preferential regimes that the EU applies to third countries and to harmonize its legislation with the EU’s acquis communautaire in a broad spectrum of areas, including standards and technical legislation, and competition policy. While negotiations to update the customs union were launched several years ago, talks have stalled.

A Tax Treaty Agreement between the United States and Türkiye for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, together with a related Protocol, was signed in 1996 and became effective on January 1, 1998. See the full tax treaty here.

Licensing Requirements for Professional Services

There are no specific licensing requirements to set up a professional services company in Türkiye. Türkiye’s FDI Law is based on the principle of equal treatment and allows international investors to have the same rights and liabilities as local investors. The conditions for setting up a business and transfer of shares are the same as those applied to local investors. International investors may establish any form of company set out in the Turkish Commercial Code (TCC), which provides for a corporate governance approach that meets international standards, fosters private equity and public offering activities, creates transparency in managing operations and brings the Turkish business environment in compliance with EU legislation as well as with the EU accession process. Türkiye has initiated reforms with a view to making it easier to do business in order to enhance the investment environment, eliminating red tape in setting up a business and minimizing costs and procedures. To this end, establishing a company is now only carried out at Trade Registry Directorates located in Chambers of Commerce and designed to be a ‘one-stop shop’. The process is completed within the same day. To open a legal services company, one needs to have a law degree in Türkiye and be a member of the Bar Association.