Abstract Turkey in the early republican era was marked by significant changes to its demographic composition as well as to its economy due to internal and external displacement of ethnic and religious communities. One of these population displacements in this period, is the “Greco-Turkish Population Exchange”. Although there is an extensive literature on the exchange itself and its social and political impact, scholars overlook its economic dimension and tend to narrate the economic aspect of the exchange only based on its impact on the domestic economies of the countries involved. However, economic activities in certain cash-crops, particularly tobacco, were long been part of the global market and needs to be evaluated under global conditions with all involved parties. Turkish tobacco trade network involved the United States, Britain, and France. The uprooting of tobacco cultivators with the exchange consequently would affect domestic economies of Turkey and Greece as well as the parties involved in the established global tobacco trade. Little known is that the population exchange and its economic impact on tobacco cultivation and trade created a major concern among major powers and Turkey. Besides official meetings during Lausanne Conference also private meetings were held to ensure the as little as disturbed continuation of the tobacco trade. In accordance, this article argues and provides empirical evidence that not only domestic dynamics were effective in the pattern of settlement but also global capitalistic relations imposed a certain pattern of settlement. Utilizing Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry State Archives and American National Archives in Washington D.C., this research investigates tobacco cultivation/trade and settlement policies as a result of global commercial interests.