An evaluation on the foreign trade performance of the Republic of Türkiye in the first century of the Republic

Although the Republic of Turkey was established as an independent state in 1923, it largely inherited the political, economic, and commercial legacy of the Ottoman Empire. In particular, trade agreements signed in the 19th century that granted extensive privileges to foreign states gradually rendered the Ottoman economy dependent on external powers, and this dependency emerged as one of the fundamental problems to be addressed by the newly founded Republic. In this thesis, the foreign trade performance of the Republic of Türkiye over the past century is comprehensively discussed and foreign trade policies are examined within the historical process.Prior to 1980, the country pursued import-substitution industrialization policies aimed at strengthening domestic production capacity, while the January 24, 1980 decisions marked a shift toward an export-oriented growth strategy and liberal trade policies. Nevertheless, despite these policy transformations, the foreign trade deficit has remained one of the Republic's chronic and structural economic problems. In particular, the insufficient domestic production of intermediate and capital goods has deepened import dependency and rendered trade imbalances a permanent issue. In conclusion, while Turkey's foreign trade policies during the first century of the Republic achieved significant quantitative progress, qualitative transformation remained largely limited. The persistence of the trade deficit is therefore expected to continue as one of the major obstacles to sustainable economic development in Turkey's second century. Keywords: Import, Export, Trade Deficit, Republic of Turkey