The free trade agreement between India and the European Union is forcing Türkiye to confront decisions that have been postponed for too long. We cannot continue to define our place in global competition solely through the familiar struggle to produce more cheaply by suppressing labor costs and repeatedly devaluing the currency.

In sectors where economies of scale determine unit costs and prices, competing head-to-head with China and India is nearly impossible. Exchange-rate fluctuations, short-term campaigns, and occasional incentives may offer temporary relief, but they will not create lasting competitiveness. What the country really needs is to rebuild its production structure and its approach to exports.

The first pillar of this reconstruction is productivity and reliability. The question is not how to make more products or make them more cheaply; it is how to deliver consistent quality, with fewer errors and less waste, lower energy intensity, and more predictable lead times. Industrial buyers today often base their decisions on the cost of late deliveries, returns and reputational damage arising from quality risks, penalties for regulatory non-compliance, and suppliers’ ability to respond rapidly to changing demand. With good industrial management and sustained attention to these issues, Türkiye can strengthen the advantages it already has: speed, flexibility, and reliability.

The second pillar is differentiation, design, and brand development. Branding is not simply advertising. It combines product architecture, user experience, quality standards, service networks, and pricing discipline. In many fields, Türkiye still limits its bargaining power by producing as an OEM or ODM for someone else’s brand. Sustainable profitability instead requires developing a distinctive product identity in niche markets, offering integrated solutions, and strengthening direct access to customers. Adding services, maintenance, spare parts, software, and traceability to the product creates opportunities to command a price premium. Of course, this is a very long journey.

The third pillar may be positioning entrepreneurship and innovation in the right place. Startups are far from being able to carry an entire economy on their own. But the innovation economy can accelerate the transformation of export-oriented sectors. Innovation does not mean inventing a new product alone; it also means developing solutions that improve production planning, quality control, energy efficiency, maintenance, and supply synchronization inside factories. Our startup ecosystem should focus on measurable results rather than flashy demonstrations.

Short-term fixes will not solve these problems. We need to design and implement sectoral programs that strengthen productivity, differentiation, and distribution channels. Not more tonnage, but higher value. Not lower prices, but more reliable supply. Not more subsidies, but stronger capabilities. Türkiye needs to change its competitive game plan.