Turkey slaps retaliatory tariff hikes on key US products

ISTANBUL - Turkey hiked Wednesday tariffs on imports of several key US products in retaliation for American sanctions against Ankara, as a bitter dispute between the two allies that has battered the Turkish lira showed no sign of ending.

The lira -- which lost just under a quarter of its value in trading on Friday and Monday -- however continued to claw back some ground on financial markets, rallying around five percent against the dollar.

But a court rejected an appeal for the release of American pastor Andrew Brunson -- whose detention for almost two years sparked the crisis -- leaving no immediate solution to the Turkey-US row in sight.

The lira's fall had raised fears Turkey was on the verge of a fully-fledged economic crisis, especially in its banking system, that could spill over into Europe and other markets.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that the tariff hikes were ordered "within the framework of reciprocity in retaliation for the conscious attacks on our economy by the US administration".

President Donald Trump had previously announced that the United States was doubling steel and aluminium tariffs on Turkey.

The hikes were published in Turkey's Official Gazette in a decree signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly described the crisis as an "economic war" that Turkey will win.

The tariff increases amount to a doubling of the existing rate, the state-run Anadolu news agency said, in an apparent parallel response to Trump's move.

The decree said the move brought tariffs to 50 percent on imports of US rice, 140 percent on hard alcoholic drinks like spirits, 60 percent on leaf tobacco and 60 percent on cosmetics.

Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said Turkey had doubled tariffs on 22 products imported from the United States, saying the tariffs were together worth an additional $533 million. 

Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin added: "Turkey is not in favor of an economic war with anyone but when attacked ... will take all necessary steps."

Erdogan on Tuesday said Turkey would boycott US electronic goods like iPhones, even though he has himself been photographed repeatedly using the product himself.

He also made his now famous speech on the night of the July 2016 failed coup calling citizens out into the street through FaceTime, an iPhone app.

Moves by the central bank to ensure Turkish banks have liquidity and a planned conference call by Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who is Erdogan's son-in-law, on Thursday have gone some way to giving reassurance to investors.

The lira was trading on Wednesday at 6.1 to the dollar, a gain in value on the day of 4.5 percent.

But many analysts say the only way for the authorities to show they are really serious about tackling Turkey's economic problems -- which include inflation approaching some 16 percent -- would be a sharp interest rate hike.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, warned the Turkish tariff hikes risked provoking a new reaction from Trump and ultimately add to downward pressure on tbe lira.

"President Erdogan appears to be playing a dangerous game if he thinks he can come out on top in this spat with the US," he commented.

As a court in the western Turkish city of Izmir rejected a new appeal to free Brunson on Wednesday, Kalin said the US needs to be respectful to the judicial procedures in Turkey.

Erdogan has warned Turkey could seek alternative partners, pointing to Ankara's strong ties with Russia, Iran and China.

"The US is our major trade partner but it's not the only one," Pekcan, the trade minister, was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency. "We have other partnerships and alternative markets."

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of gas-rich Qatar, one of Turkey's very closest allies, arrived in Ankara on Wednesday for lunchtime talks with Erdogan.

Turkish officials have also been keen to emphasize that Ankara wants to retain strong ties with Europe, which has also expressed deep unease with Trump's trade policies.

Erdogan was due to speak on the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, the presidency said. 

A Turkish court Tuesday released two Greek soldiers detained since March on espionage charges for illegally crossing the border in a case that has stoked tensions with Brussels. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Two more explosions hit Turkey's parliament -Reuters witness

ISTANBUL- Two more explosions hit Turkey's parliament building in the capital Ankara early on Saturday, a Reuters witness reported, after an earlier blast rocked the building.

Separately, a member of parliament reached by telephone told Reuters that lawmakers were hiding in shelters at the parliament.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Suicide car bombing kills 34 in Turkey

ANKARA - A suicide car bomb ripped through a busy square in central Ankara on Sunday, killing at least 34 people and wounding 125, officials said, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks to hit Turkey.

The explosion at 6:45 pm (1645 GMT) struck a bus stop near Kizilay square, a bustling commercial area and local transport hub, reducing buses to charred husks and damaging nearby shops.

Officials said the blast was caused by a vehicle packed with explosives, which the interior minister said was driven by one or two attackers who had deliberately targeted the bus stop.

The attack is the third to strike Ankara in five months, in an area close to the prime minister's office, parliament and foreign embassies, as Turkey grapples with twin security threats from the Islamic State group (IS) and Kurdish rebels.

As recently as Friday, the US embassy issued a warning about a possible plot to attack central Ankara, advising American citizens to avoid the area.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday's killings, but Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said investigators were following up on solid leads.

"We have concrete information on the terrorist group behind the attack," he said in a statement. "We will soon have results from the inquiry, and will make them public."

Canberra said Australia's ambassador to Turkey James Larsen was in his car just 20 meters (yards) away from the bomb when it went off.

The blast killed 34 people and wounded 125 others, 19 of them seriously, Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said.

"Thirty people were killed on the spot and four others died in hospital," Muezzinoglu said following a meeting of ministers and security officials called by Davutoglu.

A judge in Ankara banned the spreading of information about the attack online, particularly on social media sites, where photos and videos had been circulating.

'TERRORIST MENACE'

It is the second major attack in the heart of Ankara in less than a month, after 29 people were killed in a suicide bombing claimed by a dissident faction of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on February 17.

Sunday's blast bore many similarities with the February bombing, which the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), linked to the PKK, said was in revenge for operations by the Turkish military in the southeast of the country.

A two-year ceasefire between the government and Kurdish rebels collapsed last year and since December security forces have been waging a major campaign against the PKK.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the government would "never abandon its right to legitimate defence against the terrorist menace".

"Turkey is fighting a determined struggle against terrorist organisations," he said.

The attack comes at a delicate moment for Turkey, as it seeks to persuade the European Union to speed up its path to membership of the bloc in return for help with a huge migrant crisis.

French President Francois Hollande condemned the "vile attack" and said France stood alongside Turkey in the fight against terror. British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "appalled".

The US condemned the "horrific attack", with the White House National Security Council pledging to work with Turkey "to confront the scourge of terrorism".

CLAMPDOWN ON KURDS

Turkey has been on high alert following a string of attacks since the middle of last year, most of them blamed on the IS group, including a double suicide bombing in Ankara in October that left 103 people dead.

Sunday's attack came as strict curfews imposed in December on a number of Kurdish-dominated towns and cities were extended to two more towns in the southeast as a prelude to fresh military operations.

Authorities said restrictions would be slapped on Yuksekova, near the Iranian border, and Nusaybin, on the frontier with Syria, to "restore order and security" following an increase in "terrorist activity".

Ankara has vowed to wipe out the PKK, classed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies, and has said "clean-up" operations in Yuksekova, Nusaybin and Sirnak, a third Kurdish city, are imminent.

After February's attack Erdogan rejected the TAK claim of responsibility and insisted the assault was the work of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara regards as a branch of the PKK.

The issue has driven a wedge between Ankara and its ally Washington, which works with the YPG as the only effective force combating IS in Syria.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

At least 28 killed in car bomb attack in Turkish capital

At least 28 people were killed in an explosion in the Turkish capital, Ankara Wednesday in what appeared to have been a car bomb attack on a vehicle carrying military personnel.

Turkish officials have received reports that up to 60 people were wounded in the incident.

The city's governor said the explosion happened close to parliament, government buildings and Turkey's military headquarters.

A Turkish government spokesman also said security forces carried out a controlled explosion of a suspect package after the Ankara blast.

On Twitter, the spokesperson for the ruling AK party said they consider the blast an act of terrorism.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has postponed his planned trip to Brussels on account of the explosion.

-Mornings @ ANC, February 18, 2016

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com