The US President Donald Trump tweeted that he has just authorized to double tariffs on Turkish steel imports.
His tweet reads: “I have just authorized a doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong dollar! Aluminum will now be 20 percent and steel 50 percent. Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!”
In March this year, the US imposed 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports and 25 percent tariff on steel imports, under Section 232 citing national security reasons.
According to news reports, the announcement comes after a diplomatic impasse over the release of a detained American pastor in Turkey. In a statement, the deputy White House press secretary said, "Section 232 tariffs are imposed on imports from particular countries whose exports threaten to impair national security as defined in Section 232, independent of negotiations on trade or any other matter."
As of press time, the US Department of Commerce has not responded to media requests to confirm the higher tariffs.