Turkey expressed concern over U.S. actions in the global marketplace
Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said that some actions of the U.S. administration cause great concern in the international market, but the direct risks for Ankara are very small. The Hürriyet newspaper reported on February 8.
"If you look at the last 20 years, Turkey's trade deficit with the US is $78 billion in favor of America. We also do not have a free trade agreement with the United States. They already impose high taxes on us. There is no reason for this to increase further," Şimşek said.
According to him, Turkey is on good terms with the new U.S. administration. Based on this, Şimşek does not think that trade duties can be applied to the country.
At the same time, Shimsek emphasized that the most difficult period for the Turkish economy is behind us.
The day before, European Commission (EC) head Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union (EU) intends to defend its interests in relations with Washington and will maintain a firm retaliatory stance in case the United States decides to unfairly impose duties on goods from Europe. According to her, the U.S.-EU trade profits are €1.5 trillion and jobs in both the EU and America depend on it. At the same time, she pointed out that the U.S. and the EU have not yet negotiated on duties, as there was no signal from Washington to Brussels.
Before that, on February 5, the former US official admitted the inability of Trump's duties to harm Russia. According to him, the Republican leader is convinced that the Russian economy is vulnerable, so he is trying to use the threats of duties as leverage on Moscow.
On February 1, the US president signed an executive order imposing trade tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada, China and Mexico. At the same time, he promised to impose duties on goods from the EU. With this decision, Trump seeks to reduce the flow of the opioid fentanyl across the border, as well as the flow of migrants.
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