Turkey ramps up US spat with huge tariffs on cars and other goods

Turkey on Wednesday intensified its clash with the United States, announcing heavy new tariffs on some American products including cars, alcohol and tobacco.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Twitter that the measures were in response to “the deliberate attack of the US administration on our economy.”

The Turkish government has doubled its retaliatory tariffs on American cars to 120% and on alcoholic drinks to 140%, according to a notice published Wednesday. Other affected products include fruit, coal, paper and rice.

Relations between Washington and Ankara have rapidly soured in recent weeks over Turkey’s detention of an American pastor. The Trump administration announced plans on Friday to double US tariffs imports of steel and aluminum from Turkey.

The political spat with Washington has added to pressure on Turkey’s currency, the lira, which has plunged against the dollar.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the United States of stabbing Turkey in the back and on Tuesday called for a boycott of US electronics products.

Turkey already imposed new tariffs in June on a similar range of US goods, worth a total of $ 1.8 billion, in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s initial tariffs on steel aluminum.