U.S. President Trump just continued to "add insult to injury". He announced on Twitter that he would double the tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum products, with an additional 20% levy on aluminum products and a 50% levy on steel products, because "The Turkish lira has depreciated rapidly due to the strong dollar, offsetting the effects of tariffs."
Trump also emphasized that "the current relationship with Türkiye is not good."
The move reflects the rapid deterioration in relations between the two countries.
The announcement would mark a major policy shift, but because it was posted on Twitter, details were scant.
Since the United States and Turkey are both NATO members, this move may eventually involve other countries in diplomatic conflicts.
In addition, the U.S. Air Force has used Incellik Air Base in southern Turkey for many years, and the base has played an important role in military operations against targets in Syria. Some people in Türkiye have been advocating the expulsion of US troops.
The steel and aluminum tariffs mentioned by Trump are not just an issue between the United States and Turkey, but are part of the trade disputes that the United States provoked against multiple countries at the beginning of this year. Declaring that the United States' reliance on imported foreign metal products threatens U.S. national security, Trump has increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from economies including the European Union, Japan, China and Turkey. Among them, a 10% tariff will be levied on aluminum products and a 25% tariff will be levied on steel products.
According to U.S. government data, the country’s steel imports from Türkiye have fallen sharply. Data from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative shows that in the first half of 2018, only 4% of U.S. steel imports came from Turkey, and imports fell by nearly 50% compared with 2017.
The relationship between the United States and Turkey has deteriorated rapidly since the end of July. The apparent reason is that Turkey arrested and sentenced American pastor Andrew Brunson.
Turkey believed the pastor was linked to the attempted coup in 2016 and prosecuted him on terrorism-related charges. The United States claimed that Türkiye fabricated the accusation.
Trump issued another tweet for Branson, writing, "This innocent man of faith should be released immediately."
August 1 , the United States imposed sanctions on two Turkish ministers, and Turkey responded "tit for tat" by announcing sanctions on two U.S. officials. Relations between the United States and Türkiye continued to deteriorate as a result. Trump announced at the time that he would impose large-scale sanctions on Türkiye.