Turkey Scraps Retaliatory Tariffs Imposed On US Ahead Of Key Trump Summit On Sept 25 Aims To 'Triple Bilateral Trade'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Ahead of the White House summit on Thursday, Turkey said it is removing retaliatory tariffs imposed on some US products following a 2018 diplomatic row, reported Bloomberg. The summit is expected to yield multibillion-dollar deals.

These retaliatory tariffs targeted a range of goods from cars to whiskey. Turkey had introduced the additional levies after the US imposed similar taxes on Turkish steel and aluminium after a falling out between the two countries over the arrest of an American pastor.

Turkey's trade ministry said its removal is part of an effort to triple bilateral trade to $100 billion.

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The decision to remove the US tariff comes ahead of a meeting between Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump scheduled for Thursday, September 25.

The Turkish leader seeks to turn the summit into a turning point in the fraught relationship between the NATO allies , dangling aircraft deals with Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. that would be worth tens of billions of dollars.

Turkish markets improve

Turkish markets got a boost from expectations of major deals between the US and Turkey. Equities benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index rose as much as 2.2% driven by defense firm Aselsan and Turkish Airlines, the likely buyer of Boeing planes.

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Shares of Turkey's state-run Halkbank, seen as a proxy of relations' strength between Erdogan and Trump, rose as much as 10%. Halkbank was prosecuted in the US for allegedly helping evade US sanctions on Iran. Investors believe better ties could help Halkbank's appeals case in the US.

Government debt rose with the yield on two and 10-year bonds falling 24 basis points and 21 basis points, respectively. The lira edged slightly higher.

“Rapprochement between the US and Turkey is boosting the positive market sentiment, especially after a relative ease in the latest political tensions,” ICBC Turkey Investment's Burak Isyar told Bloomberg.

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The US set tariffs on Turkish goods at 15% in August, lower than many peers.

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