ANKARA – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said Turkey wouldboycott US electronic goods in retaliation for punitive sanctions byWashington against Ankara over the detention of an American pastor.
“We will boycott US electronic goods,” Erdogan said in a televised speech,raising the stakes in a spat that has seen the Turkish lira plunge torecord lows.
“If (the United States) have the iPhone, there’s Samsung on the otherside,” he said, referring to US giant Apple’s iconic phone and the topSouth Korean brand.
“We (also) have our Venus and Vestel,” he said about homegrown Turkishelectronics brands.
Relations between the two NATO allies have plummeted in one of their worstcrises in decades after the detention of US pastor Andrew Brunson onterror-related charges, sending the Turkish lira into free fall against thedollar.
Erdogan has been repeatedly photographed with Apple products including theiPhone and iPad.
He also made his now famous speech on the night of the July 2016 failedcoup calling citizens out into the street through Facetime, an iPhone app.
The lira’s plunge — which had been ongoing for weeks — was turned into arout on Friday when US President Donald Trump tweeted that Washington wasdoubling aluminium and steel tariffs for Turkey.
Turkish Airlines also announced on Twitter that it would join a campaigncirculating on social media with a hashtag #ABDyeReklamVerme (don’t giveads to America).
“We, as the Turkish Airlines, stand by our state and our people. Necessaryinstructions on the issue have been issued to our agencies,” Yahya Ustun,spokesman for the country’s flag-carrier, wrote on Twitter.
Erdogan said Turkey was facing an “economic attack” and a “bigger, deeperoperation” but showed no sign of making concessions to the United States.
“They don’t hesitate to use the economy as a weapon,” he said. “What do youwant to do? What do you want to achieve,” he added, referring to the US.
Erdogan admitted the Turkish economy had problems — including a wideningcurrent account deficit and inflation of almost 16 percent but added:“Thanks to God, our economy is functioning like clockwork.” -APP/AFP