The Secretary pushed for stronger trade ties and better protections for U.S. businesses and workers

WASHINGTON – Over the past two weeks, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross traveled to Greece and Turkey to discuss the United States’ economic relationships with these nations as well as the best route to strengthening their commercial partnerships with the U.S.

“The United States is an essential economic partner to countries across the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “With Greece and Turkey, there is further room for growth – an opportunity to build on past successes to benefit both their economies while helping American workers and businesses.”

Secretary Ross concluded his visit to Greece last Friday, after meetings with Prime Minister Mitsotakis, Development Minister Georgiadis, and Digital Governance Minister Pierrakakis. During his appearances, the Secretary expressed U.S. support for Greece’s efforts to attract investment, deregulate, lower taxes, and spur economic growth. Secretary Ross also announced that he would be hosting Prime Minister Mitsotakis and a group of major U.S. corporations on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly later this month.

While in Turkey, Secretary Ross travelled to both Istanbul and Ankara, meeting with President Erdoğan, Minister of Finance Albayrak, Minister of Trade Pekcan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Dönmez, and Minister of Health Koca, taking the time to highlight the importance of the beneficial ties between the United States and Turkey. Secretary Ross discussed the goal of President Trump and President Erdoğan to generate up to $100 billion a year in bilateral trade in order to reinforce the close relationship between the two countries.

Additionally, throughout his trip, Secretary Ross met with representatives from Greek, Turkish, and American companies from diverse industries to discuss the best avenues to further improve their trade and investment strategies. The Secretary spoke with the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), and the Turkey-U.S. Business Council (TAIK), among others.