A woman checks the currency exchange rates at a shop in Istanbul, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. (Lefteris Pitarakis/AP)
Turkey will boycott US electronic products, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on August 14, during a his address to a symposium organized by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) on the 17th foundation anniversary of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.
“We will boycott American electronic products,” the president said. “They do not hesitate to use the economy as a weapon against us, as they [also] tried in the diplomatic or military field, and efforts to sow social and political instability.”
Erdogan added that his country would produce a better version of every product previously bought with foreign currencies and export these products.
The US-Turkish relations are currently far from being far and friendly. Washington has recently introduced sanctions on Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey. The US also doubled tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel imports to 20 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
The sides have also contradictory goals in the Syrian conflict. Their approaches are especially different toward the so-called Kurdish issue.
