US development agencies on the lookout for Turkish investors

US development agencies and representatives of individual states are inviting Turkish investors to invest in their respective regions to develop collaborations across various sectors, especially in aviation, automotive, food, and beverages.

The SelectUSA Roadshow, hosted Thursday by the Ankara-based Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), welcomed state representatives from Iowa, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. TOBB held the event in collaboration with the US Embassy in Ankara's commercial service.

Sergio Domingues, who leads the Europe Office of South Carolina's Commerce Department, told Anadolu on the sidelines of the event that he visited Türkiye at least four times last year, as the country "has become a very important and strategic market" for the office with its strong auto, aviation, and agriculture sectors.

"We see that a lot of these companies already have and enjoy sales and partnerships in the US and they are trying to develop it or take those relationships to a new level," he said. "There is greater interest from Turkish investors, and we, as South Carolina, are trying to open our state to these companies, so that they could land in our state and use the state of South Carolina as a gateway, or as a landing pad for the largest economy in the world, which is the United States of America."

Domingues said South Carolina offers Turkish firms from any sector trying to establish a presence in the US with private and completely free tailor-made consultative services with confidentiality in mind to ease the process of entering the US market.

"My message to Turkish companies is that you have a partner and a friend in the US and in South Carolina," he said. "We had, over the last year, recruited a very important company — they process copper, which is becoming very important because of the growing percentage of the content needed for everything from electric vehicles and data centers, and it has become recognized or categorized as a critical mineral in the US."

"A year ago to this day is when I met them for the first time, and after only 100 days we were able to find a building and a location for them, so in a very short period of time we were able to help this Turkish company find a location, get set up, and they will hopefully become operational and begin producing in March of this year," he said, calling it "a success story, a great testimonial."

"What I offer and what I would like to impart on Turkish investors is that feel free to contact us — there is no question that we cannot answer and that we hope that we could serve as a resource moving forward," he added.

- Iowa

Juliet Abdel, the president and CEO of Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, told Anadolu that the Iowa-based nonprofit is focused on economic development, chamber of commerce-related activities, community development, and even foreign trade, working with companies from some 17 countries operating in the Midwestern state.

"We have 68,000 that are employed through foreign direct investment opportunities and over just shy of 400,000 that rely on international trade all over the state of Iowa," she said. "So our focus is, and will continue to be, Canada, Türkiye, and then, the Middle East and North Africa, including parts of East Asia like Japan."

Türkiye is important because of the "renewed focus on increasing trade relations," she said, adding that she has seen the strong relationship between US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

She added: "We've engaged with several different interested businesses in expanding more into … manufacturing and in the aerospace cluster."

Abdel stated that there are many opportunities in bio-economy, and that Iowa boasts the highest concentration of biosciences in the US, as it was the first state "to have a GPS signal detected all over the world," adding: "We paved the way for a lot of technology."

She said agriculture is one of the most important sectors locally due to opportunities such as in "bio-fuel, bio-sustainability, and bio-tech."

"We have over 63 different types of incentive programs in the state of Iowa, and those generally touch tax credits, exemptions, rebates, loans — those are just focused on a variety of different factors for businesses," she explained. "The clear message is that we are welcome and open for business — we always like to say 'welcome is our language'."

Cedar Rapids was founded by immigrants — including Czech, German, and Lebanese immigrants-she said.

"A very fun fact is the first mosque that was built in America was built and is still active in Cedar Rapids, so (we're) very welcoming to Türkiye," she added. "We've signed those agreements to pledge that we will continue to find opportunities to bring businesses together, to have trade relations to continue to progress over the future."

- Virginia

Antje Abshoff, vice president of foreign direct investment at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, told Anadolu that she has visited Ankara, Istanbul, and the northwestern province of Kocaeli in Türkiye, as well as the coastal city of Izmir and the northwestern city of Bursa.

Abshoff said the state of Virginia has a very strong position in the aviation, defense, and shipbuilding sectors, as well as a strong structure in advanced manufacturing, metals, plastics, and chemicals.

Virginia boasts the highest concentration of data centers worldwide, while the state is home to space, wood product, and food and beverage processing sectors, she said.

"I believe that there is great potential for cooperation with Türkiye, and there is also great potential for Turkish companies to participate in the supply chain for the defense, shipbuilding, and aerospace sectors," she said. "We have seen great companies here in Turkey, and we met with several during our visit here that definitely have the capacity and the right products to slot into the supply chain for our defense and aerospace companies."

"We have several Turkish companies that have already invested in Virginia," she noted. "Virginia offers a great operating environment for Turkish companies, not only to enter the US market successfully but also to scale and grow in the United States — this is supported by our great infrastructure."

"Virginia offers direct flights to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, and I've been on that flight, and I love Turkish Airlines as well," she said "We also offer talent, and just like in Türkiye, talent is typically the key to success in the United States."