President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen requesting that Turkey be included in the European Union's new "Made in Europe" trade labeling initiative, according to Turkish media reports.
The move comes as the EU prepares protectionist measures in response to American tariff threats, creating a regional preference system that could exclude Turkish exports from one of the country's largest trading partners. Turkey's exclusion from the "Made in Europe" designation would represent a significant blow to an economy already grappling with inflation and currency instability.
The initiative, designed to protect European manufacturers from external competition, raises fundamental questions about Turkey's relationship with the bloc. Despite decades as a NATO member and formal EU candidate status since 1999, Turkey finds itself potentially locked out of a preferential trading system that could reshape European commerce.
Turkish industry groups have expressed alarm at the potential impact. The country's manufacturing sector, particularly textiles, automotive components, and white goods, depends heavily on European markets. Exclusion from the "Made in Europe" framework could force Turkish exporters to compete on less favorable terms with producers from EU member states and potentially other privileged partners.
In Turkey, as at the crossroads of continents, identity and strategy require balancing multiple worlds. The trade labeling dispute exemplifies Ankara's perpetual challenge: neither fully European nor entirely separate, Turkey occupies an ambiguous position that leaves it vulnerable when regional blocs draw boundaries.
The request to von der Leyen underscores Turkey's economic vulnerability at a moment when the Erdogan government faces mounting domestic pressure over living standards. With presidential elections approaching, exclusion from European markets could exacerbate economic challenges that have already eroded the government's popularity in urban centers.
Brussels officials have not yet publicly responded to the Turkish request. European diplomats privately note that the "Made in Europe" initiative was conceived partly to address security concerns about supply chains, including questions about Turkey's relationships with Russia and other non-aligned powers.
Opposition politicians in Turkey have seized on the issue as evidence of failed foreign policy. "We have alienated Europe without gaining alternatives," one CHP parliamentarian told reporters, arguing that the government's confrontational approach to EU relations has left Turkey isolated when economic cooperation matters most.
Business associations in Istanbul and Izmir have lobbied the government to pursue membership in the trade framework, warning that exclusion could accelerate the relocation of manufacturing to EU member states or Balkan countries with clearer paths to membership.
The dispute arrives as Turkey seeks to position itself as a manufacturing alternative to China for Western companies pursuing supply chain diversification. That strategy depends on maintaining privileged access to European markets—exactly what the "Made in Europe" initiative could jeopardize.
Ankara's response to potential exclusion will test whether Turkish foreign policy can reconcile its multi-directional approach with the realities of trade blocs increasingly defined by political alignment. For a government that has cultivated relationships with Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran while maintaining NATO membership, the price of strategic autonomy may be measured in market access.
