Turkey hikes tariffs on U.S. products amid escalating tensions

The decree will raise tariffs on American vehicle imports by 120-percent, alcohol by 140-percent and tobacco by 60-percent. “But there will be a price [which] those who’re waging an economic warfare against Turkey will also pay”.

The United States was the fourth largest source of imports to Turkey previous year, accounting for $12 billion (£9.4 billion) of imports, according to International Monetary Fund statistics.

After winning a June election, Erdogan spooked markets when he tightened his control over the central bank.

Both Russia and Turkey’s currencies have been exposed to the U.S. sanctions pressure.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures prior to delivering a speech in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. Singling out the iPhone, he suggested Turks buy Samsung Electronics Co. or locally made Venus Vestel smartphones instead.

The lira has recovered 12 percent to 6.06 per dollar after hitting a record low of 7.24 on Monday.

On August 10, Trump approved a doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey, saying Washington’s ties with Ankara were “not good at this time”.

But fundamental concerns about the economy persist, experts say.

Peter O’Flanagan, the head of trading at the foreign exchange consultancy Clear Treasury, said: “Restrictions from the Turkish central bank limiting banks’ use of swap lines has had the desired effect on the lira”.

A senior official says a series of measures aimed at shoring up the Turkish currency are taking effect and that he expects the improvements to continue.

The currency drop is particularly painful for Turkey because it has accumulated a high debt in foreign currencies.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said the finance chief would address hundreds of foreign investors on Thursday in a teleconference.

The US decision is another salvo in the growing dispute between Turkey and the US.

A court in the western Turkish city of Izmir rejected a new appeal to free Brunson on Wednesday, the state television TRT reported.

In the case of the American pastor, the lawyer representing Andrew Brunson again asked a Turkish court to release him from house arrest. The Trump administration has demanded that Brunson, a pastor from North Carolina who has lived in Turkey for decades, be allowed to return to the United States.

His detention has soured relations with Washington, with Donald Trump, the U.S. president, doubling aluminium and steel tariffs for Turkey in punitive actions against Ankara’s refusal to release Mr Brunson.

It was unclear how the Turkish leader planned to implement the boycott.

Turkey has also been publicly critical of criminal prosecutions in the USA involving state-run Halkbank official Mehmet Hakan Atilla, as well as Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader.

India’s rupee also plumbed a record low, while Russia’s rouble, South Africa’s rand and Indonesia’s rupiah all traded at their weakest in two or more years. “Turkey is not the first country nor will it be the last one with which the USA administration has picked up a fight”.