The effects of Turkey's free trade agreements on foreign trade

In global trade, countries make commercial agreements among themselves. While making these agreements, they make mutual concessions. With the agreements, restrictions other than customs duties and taxes are removed between the countries that have signed the agreement. In this process, Türkiye is also signing Free Trade Agreements with different countries. In the first part of this thesis, the definition of the Free Trade Agreement, the concept of origin and examples of economic integration in the world are examined. The Customs Union Agreement signed by Turkey with the European Union was examined. In the second part, the countries with which Turkey signed a Free Trade Agreement were examined and the main social indicators and foreign trade structures of these countries were examined. Then, by looking at the Free Trade Agreements signed with these countries, the agreement articles, which products were exported and imported, and foreign trade data were examined. In the third section, the impact of the Free Trade Agreements made by Turkey on the competitiveness of the automotive industry was analyzed. In this context, first Turkey's place in the world markets in the automotive industry has been reviewed. Then, competitiveness indices in foreign trade were examined and a literature review was conducted to follow empirical studies on this subject. Finally, in the study, Turkey's Relative Competitive Advantage (RTA) in the automotive sector against the countries with which it has a Free Trade Agreement was calculated and the results were interpreted. In the first part of this thesis, the definition of Free Trade Agreement, the concept of origin and examples of economic integration in the world are examined. The Customs Union Agreement signed by Turkey with the European Union is analyzed.