How Turkey should respond to US’s economic war

Turkey should respond to the economic war imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump with hefty customs duties. Big U.S. brands that benefit from Turkey’s market should be subject to these import duties in response to the doubling U.S. tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel imports to 20 percent and 50 percent, respectively. The tariffs followed Washington’s imposition of sanctions on Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.

Turkey should also impose substantial customs duties on technology brands such as IBM and Apple as well as construction machinery and equipment company Caterpillar Inc. Ankara could impose import duties on luxury lifestyle products as well as computers, phones, cosmetics, yachts, boats, automobiles, racecars, data processing machines and construction machines.

The $3.3 billion deficit in bilateral trade between the U.S. and Turkey could be narrowed by additional customs taxes. The additional tax that could be imposed on luxury lifestyle items could lead to great savings in the domestic market.

Apple’s technology products and Caterpillar Inc.’s construction machinery obtain hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of profits in Turkey each year. Even though the iPhone is not the bestselling smartphone in Turkey, it makes up 80 percent of smartphone sales’ profits.

In addition to the additional customs duties backed by the public, it is expected that consumers support Turkey’s economy by boycotting U.S.-made products.

It is also expected that industry figures utilize raw materials and intermediate goods resources domestically in order to support Turkey’s economic independence struggle. Turkey’s exports to the U.S., which stood at $8.5 billion last year, have risen considerably since the beginning of 2018.

Turkey’s third biggest export market is the U.S., and it is the fifth largest country where Turkey exports its goods, with trade volume amounting to $20.6 billion in 2017, official data showed.

Turkey’s imports from the U.S. rose by 9.9 percent to $11.9 billion in 2017 compared to the previous year. Turkey’s foreign trade deficit with the U.S. has decreased over the past three years, showing a reduction of 22.4 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year. It is expected that Turkey will respond to U.S. economic and political pressure by imposing hefty customs duties.

Two months ago, Turkey imposed additional customs duties on 22 U.S. products with an import value of $1.8 billion. The tariffs were imposed on imports of U.S. coal, paper, walnuts, almonds, tobacco, unprocessed rice, whisky, automobiles, cosmetics, machinery equipment and petrochemical products.