With Europe absorbing half of Turkey’s textile exports, Ankara’s mills are looking for tariff relief and diversification before Asian rivals bite harder.
At Première Vision in Paris (Feb 3–5), Turkey’s textile exporters made their pitch: if Europe is becoming a knife fight, the United States must serve as the safety valve.
Ahmet Öksüz, chairman of the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (ITHIB), said a US free-trade agreement (FTA)—or at least a textiles-only preferential trade deal—is now “a strategic necessity”, arguing it could compensate for lost European market share.
Turkey’s textile and raw-materials exports ended 2025 at about $11.4bn; combined with apparel, the total reached roughly $26bn.
Europe remains Turkey’s anchor market (Öksüz put the share at ~50%). But he says China and India are intensifying competition in Europe, redirecting volumes after facing higher barriers in the US.
He also warned that a prospective India–Europe trade deal expected to take effect in 2027 would erode Turkey’s Customs Union advantage.
Turkey’s current share of US textile imports is ~3%, which the industry thinks could rise to 5% within two years with a deal—lifting exports to the US from roughly $792m to $1.32bn, by its own estimates.
The strategic bet is clear: secure preferential access before Europe’s price pressure becomes structural—and before “diversification” turns into factory closures.
