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For Immediate Release: November 29, 2012
Contact: Mary Trupo (202) 482-3809
Obama Official to Lead Defense and Aerospace Trade Mission to Turkey
WASHINGTON – Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sánchez today announced he will lead a defense and aerospace trade mission to Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey, from December 3-7. The trade mission will assist 18 U.S. companies in the aerospace and defense industries with their efforts to identify profitable opportunities in Turkey and to increase their export potential in joint cooperation with Turkish companies.
“Expanding our trade and investment relationship with Turkey continues to be a critical component of President Obama’s commercial diplomacy strategy,” Sánchez said. “This trade mission is an important opportunity to help forge mutually beneficial relationships between companies in our two countries, and continue to strengthen our economic and strategic relationship.”
Sánchez will deliver remarks at the World Bank “Ease of Doing Business” Symposium highlighting reforms Turkey could take to improve its business climate, and urging the Turkish Government to target specific priority areas for improvement.
Turkey’s young and increasingly prosperous population of 72 million is an attractive market for U.S. exporters. Turkey is also ideally located for companies to position themselves to sell to the European Union, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and increasingly the Middle East and Africa. Additionally, Turkey maintains the second largest military in NATO, serving as the organization’s vital eastern anchor.
In 2011, U.S.-Turkish trade grew by 34 percent, reaching a record $20 billion. U.S. exports to Turkey rose 38 percent, totaling $14.6 billion, making Turkey the 21st largest U.S. export market.
The following companies were selected for participation in the trade mission:
- AdChem Manufacturing Technologies, Inc. – Manchester, Conn.
- Allied Wire & Cable, Inc. – Collegeville, Pa.
- Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. – Hurst, Texas
- The Boeing Company – Renton, Wash.
- Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company – Simsbury, Conn.
- FLIR Systems, Inc. – Wilsonville, Ore.
- General Electric International Inc. – Cincinnati
- Industrial Metals Int’l Ltd. – Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
- Infinity Air, Inc. – Los Angeles
- IOMAX USA, Inc. – Mooresville, N.C.
- ITT Elexis – McLean, Va.
- Moog Components Group – Blacksburg, Va.
- Northrop Grumman Technical Services – Killeen, Texas
- NOVA Power Solutions – Sterling, Va
- OSISoft, LLC – San Leandro, Calif.
- Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation – Startford, Conn.
- Space X – Hawthorne, Calif.
- Trimble Navigation Limited – Sunnyvale, Calif.
This trade mission advances President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI), which aims to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014, supporting economic and job growth. U.S. export expansion and increased trade benefits both Turkey and the United States by fostering U.S. commercial involvement in Turkey’s economic development.
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