Weekly Update

Turkish lira plummets and relations with the U.S. hit a new low

The New York Times reports that on August 10, the US raised imports of metal and aluminum imports from Turkey, and earlier new sanctions were imposed on Turkish Justice and Home Affairs Ministers. The use of sanctions is conditioned by the imprisonment of American cleric Andrew Branson in Turkey.

Later on, Mr Erdogan appealed directly to Turks, asking them to use any dollars, euros or gold they owned to purchase domestic currency. The Turkish lira plunged against dollar by more than 20 percent.

On 15 August Turkey issued retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, informs the BBC.  According to the report, "a decree signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the tariffs on cars to 120%, on alcoholic drinks to 140% and on leaf tobacco to 60%. Tariffs were also increased on cosmetics, rice and coal. Turkey had previously said it would boycott US electronic products."

Prepared by Marina Muradyan