(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) ANKARA, Aug 14 (KUNA) -- In response to the recent US economic and political sanctions on Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Tuesday that his country would boycott the US-made electronic products and their ads.
"We will boycott American electronic products and produce a better version of every product previously bought with foreign currencies," Turkey's AA agency quoted Erdogan as saying.
He was addressing a symposium organized by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) to mark the 17th anniversary of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.
"They do not hesitate to use economy as a weapon against us, as they tried in the diplomatic or military fields, in an effort to foment social and political instability," he added.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul, and doubled the tariffs on the aluminum and steel imports from Turkey to 20 percent and 50 percent respectively.
The move was taken against the backdrop of the detention in Turkey of the American Pastor Andrew Brunson over terrorism charges since the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
"Our country today has one of the most solid banking systems in the world in all respects," the Turkish leader said.
He noted that the reasons for the economic attack have nothing to do with the Turkish economy, but that behind the attack lie "some other plans." To repel these attacks, Erdogan said Turkey is taking "the necessary measures in the economy and the most significant point to me is to keep our political stance strong.
"I tell our people especially our business world that the best answer you could give to economic hitmen is to fully embrace your business. -- If they (the US) have iPhone, the other side has Samsung. In our country, there are Venus and Vestel.
"We must produce more, export more, as there is no meaning in locking (our products) up in storage," he added, welcoming the recovery of the exchange rate of the Turkish lira.
Addressing the same event, Turkey's Minister of Finance Berat Albayrak said, "We will make all kinds of preparations, from A to Z to see our lira becoming stronger." Albayrak added the US dollar had lost credibility after being used as a tool for political punishment. The lira has finally took an upward trend today, rallying by over eight percent against the US dollar to 6.692 from 7.240 last night.
The recovery is attributable to the urgent measures adopted yesterday by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) to stabilize the banking sector. Several countries, including Russia, Iraq and Malaysia, showed solidarity with Turkey in its efforts to maintaining the strength of its local currency.
Local businesses, including the flag carrier Turkish Airlines and Turk Telekom, responded positively to Erdogan's call for boycotting the US electronic goods. (end) rs.gb
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