The failed coup attempt in Turkey and the events following it are causing discussion in many areas of life in Germany, such as the refugee policy, the Turks in Germany, the question of admitting Turkey to the EU, the visa policy, the possibility of the conflict in Turkey being exported to Germany and last but not least – the economy, as Turkey is an important trade partner. The German Federal Statistics Office has yesterday, August 3, 2016 reminded of the importance of Turkey as a trade partner.
After the failed coup attempt in Turkey, German enterprises are concerned about consequences for foreign trade. Turkey is a major importer especially for the automotive industry and manufacturers of machinery and equipment.
In 2015, Turkey was one of Germany's 20 major trading partners. According to provisional results, goods to the total value of 36.9 billion euros were traded between the two countries. Exports from Germany amounted to 22.4 billion euros. Among the major importers, Turkey ranked even higher than countries such as Russia, South Korea and Japan. Germany’s biggest export partners in 2015 were the USA, France, the UK, the Netherlands and China. Turkey was ranked at the 14th place. You can have a look at Germany’s trade balances with all countries here.
Major export goods included motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (6.4 billion euros) and machinery (4.3 billion euros). Exports of these two groups of goods to Turkey accounted for roughly 3%, respectively, of total German exports of those goods. Imports from Turkey amounted to approximately 14.5 billion euros. Clothing was by far the most significant good imported (3.3 billion euros).
