Qatar to make direct investment of $15B in Turkey

Turkey had previously said it would boycott United States electronic products.

Turkey had already retaliated against Trump’s first round of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that were imposed on the European Union in late May, ending a two-month exemption.

Salim bin Mubarak Al Shafi, Qatar’s ambassador to Turkey, said his country would continue to support Turkey, adding that the emir’s visit demonstrated the “depth” of the two countries’ relations. Turkish authorities arrested him in 2016 and charged him with being involved in a failed coup that same year against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and with colluding with Kurdish militants.

Erdogan wants Washington to extradite Turkish cleric and scholar Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish president views as a longtime antagonist and mastermind of the plot to oust him. Trump also complained about Ankara’s ingratitude in light of the fact that he had secured the release of an imprisoned Turkish national from a country he did not name.

The United States on Wednesday ruled out removing steel tariffs that have contributed to a currency crisis in Turkey even if Ankara frees a USA pastor, as Qatar pledged $15 billion in investment to Turkey, supporting a rise in the Turkish lira.

The dispute over Brunson and other frictions between Washington and Ankara have been one reason the Turkish lira has plunged 40 percent this year.

“In response to deliberated and continued trade tensions, Turkey has again raised tariffs on key USA imports”, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said in a statement.

Measures to restrict the amount of currency that can be exchanged with foreign banks were also said to be boosting the currency. Doha has $20 billion worth of investments in Turkey, and Ankara is one of the top exporters to the emirate.

Turkey’s finance minister has reassured thousands of foreign investors that Ankara will manage to contain the currency crisis triggered by a dispute with the United States, vowing that his country will only emerge “stronger” from the current market volatility. They can also demand debtors sell assets to repay loans.

Turkey, he said, has no plans to seek help from the International Monetary Fund or impose capital controls to stop money flowing overseas in response to the recent collapse of its lira currency.

Relieving tensions in a case that annoyed Brussels, a Turkish court Tuesday released two Greek soldiers detained since March on espionage charges for illegally crossing the border.

Even before the blockade, Qatar’s economic ties with Turkey were robust. Brunson stands accused of supporting both USA -based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen and the Marxist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization.

“Any help that Germany could give right now would be small compared to the problems at hand”, Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, said by phone.