ANKARA – Turkish President Recep Erdogan has confirmed that his country will boycott U.S. electronic goods, including Apple’s flagship iPhone device – which was helpful in saving his regime in 2016.
In a defiant speech on Tuesday, the president struck an assertive tone and claimed he had been taking necessary measures to arrest the recent slide in Turkish assets.
“If they have iPhone, there is Samsung on the other side. And we have our own telephone brands,” he said in clear-worded remarks.
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Speaking at a Symposium in Ankara, Erdogan said Turkish businesses must continue to produce and export the country’s own goods. He added that U.S. electronics would have sanctions placed on them.
The Turkish leader expressed that they were going to produce enough for themselves.
We have to serve better quality goods than we are importing from them, Erdogan added in his comments made amid the ongoing tussle with Washington.
Erdogan also namechecked Vestel Venus phones as a home-built alternative for his countrymen to buy – a move that helped the shares of the company to rise almost 5 percent.
For one more time, Erdogan called on Turks to convert U.S. dollars into lira in order to “maintain the dignity” of the currency.
Turkish currency tumbled low over deteriorating relations with the United States as President Donald Trump unexpectedly doubled metal tariffs against the Muslim state on Friday.
The tension between the two states stemmed out of a recent skirmish over a US pastor Andrew Craig Brunson who was sentenced to almost two years in prison on terror charges.
Trump urged Erdogan on Twitter to free him, describing his continuing detention as “a total disgrace”.
Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for 20 years and has been detained since October 2016, is accused of helping Gulen’s network and the proscribed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Interestingly, both Ankara and Washington designate the PKK as “terrorist”.
