ISTANBUL: Turkey on Wednesday said it was hiking tariffs on imports ofseveral key US products in retaliation for American sanctions againstAnkara, as a bitter dispute between the two allies that sent the Turkishlira into freefall showed no sign of ending.
The lira which had lost just under a quarter of its value in trade onFriday and Monday however continued to claw back some ground on financialmarkets, rallying over five per cent against the dollar.
The lira´s fall had raised fears Turkey was on the verge of a fully-fledgedeconomic crisis, especially in its banking system, that could spill overinto Europe and other markets.
Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay said that the tariff hikes were ordered”within the framework of reciprocity in retaliation for the consciousattacks on our economy by the US administration”.
President Donald Trump had previously announced that the US was doublingsteel and aluminium tariffs on Turkey, as the two NATO allies row over thedetention by Turkish authorities of American pastor Andrew Brunson.
The hikes were published in Turkey´s Official Gazette in a decree signed byPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly described the crisis asan “economic war” that Turkey will win.
The tariff increases the amount to a doubling of the existing rate, thestate-run Anadolu news agency said, in an apparent parallel response toTrump´s move. – APP/AFP