Turkey's clothing sector, a main driver of foreign sales, may miss this year's export target if a row with Germany is not resolved. Despite signs of a sales turnaround to other countries, some German buyers have canceled trip to Turkey after a rise in political tension between the NATO allies. This may make it hard to match exports of $17 billion in 2016 which were already about a billion dollars short of an initial target due to the attempted military coup of last July.

Relations between Turkey and Germany deteriorated after Turkey arrested 10 rights activists, including a German, three weeks ago as part of a wider security crackdown. Turkish exports were hampered by last year’s coup attempt, which continued into the first and second quarters of the year. Some German companies have canceled their visits recently. Germany is Turkey’s biggest export market for ready-to-wear clothing.

Ready-to-wear clothes constitute Turkey's second largest export sector after automotives. The European Union buys more than 70 per cent of Turkish clothing exports, with 2.5 billion dollars going to Germany. In the first six months, Turkey’s total exports increased by 8.2 per cent while readymade clothing and apparel exports fell by 5.8 per cent.