Turkey ups ante in trade war with US

Turkey said on Wednesday it was hiking tariffs on imports of several key US products in retaliation for American sanctions against Ankara.

This comes amid a bitter dispute between the two allies that has sent the Turkish lira into freefall and shows no sign of ending.

The lira – which lost nearly a quarter of its value in trade on Friday and Monday – however clawed back some ground on financial markets, rallying over 5% against the dollar.

The lira’s fall had raised fears Turkey was on the verge of a fully-fledged economic crisis, especially in its banking system, that could spill over into Europe and other markets.

Turkish vice-president Fuat Oktay said the tariff hikes were ordered “within the framework of reciprocity in retaliation for the conscious attacks on our economy by the US administration”.

President Donald Trump had previously announced that the US was doubling steel and aluminium tariffs on Turkey, as the two Nato allies row over the detention by Turkish authorities of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

The hikes were published in Turkey’s official gazette in a decree signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly described the crisis as an “economic war”.

The tariff increases amount to a doubling of the existing rate, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

The decree said the move brought tariffs to 50% on imports of US rice, 140% on hard alcoholic drinks like spirits, 60% in leaf tobacco and 60% on cosmetics.

The tariffs on auto imports are now up to 120%, depending on the type of vehicle.

Erdogan on Tuesday said Turkey would boycott US electronic goods like iPhones, even though he has himself been photographed repeatedly using the product himself.