The effect of Syrians in Turkey on the Turkish foreign trade-Gaziantep case

Civil riots and protests in Arab countries affected the whole region starting from Tunisia and Egypt and spread to Syria as of March 15, 2011. The country was dragged into chaos due to the conflicts, and thousands of people were injured and thousands died. As a result of the growth of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, cross-border mobility started in our frontier region. Due to the flow of migration, our country had to take some measures for Syrian citizens. This biggest migration wave in the history of Turkey has caused many social, cultural, and economic concerns for the Turkish people, especially our citizens living in our border cities, who have to face this challenging situation closely, and also caused some expectations. In terms of economy, the general belief is that immigrants create an environment where risks and opportunities are intertwined. As a matter of fact, it is seen that there are studies supporting this opinion in the national and international books and researches on countries with immigrant populations both in Turkey and abroad. In the present study, it will be discussed whether Syrians, who are relatively mostly concentrated in border cities, have an impact on the increase in foreign trade volume in the intervening period, which is one of the most important items of macroeconomics. In the study, the question "Will the foreign trade of the border cities increase more than other cities" will be asked and it will be discussed to what extent the international immigration mobility affects the economy of the receiving country on a regional basis and the idea whether the studies should be conducted on a regional level by analyzing the foreign trade development figures of Gaziantep city through the secondary data analysis method that will collect data by the current foreign trade statistics and foreign trade items between the years 2010-2019. Key Words: Temporary Protection, Syrian, Foreign Trade, Gaziantep, Economic Integration, Import, Export