Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to boycott American electronic products in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the Trump administration that have caused his country’s currency to plummet to record lows, according to a report Tuesday.
“Together with our people, we will stand decisively against the dollar. … We will protect our economic independence by being tight-knit together,” Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party, the Associated Press reported.
Declaring economic war against the US, Erdogan said Turkey, a NATO ally, will no longer purchase Apple products or other electronic devices made by American companies.
“We will impose a boycott on US electronic products. If they have iPhones, there is Samsung on the other side, and we have our own Vestel here,” he said, referring to a Turkish electronics firm.
President Trump announced Friday that he would double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Turkey and impose sanctions against two Turkish ministers over the detention of Andrew Bunson, an American pastor who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges.
After free-falling on Monday, Turkey’s already troubled lira began showing signs of stabilizing on Tuesday, climbing 5 percent.
The lira has fallen 42 percent so far this year, with most of the losses happening in the last few weeks.
Despite Erdogan’s rhetoric, diplomatic efforts are still under way.
Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton met with Turkish officials in Washington on Monday, Turkey’s state-run media reported.



