The American pastor Brunson was placed under house arrest in Turkey and the US announced imposed tariffs on imports of Turkish steel and aluminum in response to Erdoğan's refusal to free Brunson, raising concerns of economic damage in Europe. Also causing the collapse of the Turkish currency, and the two countries were intensified.
The Turkish authorities announced that they will boycotted US electronic goods and raised additional tariffs on US imports of passenger cars by 120 percent, on alcoholic beverages by 140 percent and on tobacco by 60 percent, as a counterattack against US President Trump’s threat to increase steel and aluminum tariffs.
Tension between Turkey and the United States may related to the following events:
Pastor Brunson's case has severely soured relations between the two countries. Brunson was arrested in December 2016 by Turkish authorities who claimed that he was a spy and had connections to a terrorist group – a charge Mr. Brunson has vehemently denied.
Turkey’s plans to buy the Russian air and missile defense system have raised tensions with Washington, and US lawmakers are seeking to block the transfer of any F-35 jets to Turkey.
Turkish authorities arrested a U.S. Consulate employee in Istanbul over his alleged links to a movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The U.S. Embassy believes the allegations against the staff member are "wholly without merit."
Mehmet Hakan Atill an executive at Turkey’s majority state-owned Halkbank, cause guilty of helping Iran evade US sanctions. Prosecutors had accused Atilla of conspiring with a gold trader, Reza Zarrab, and others to help Iran escape sanctions using fraudulent gold and food transactions. Zarrab described a sprawling scheme that he said included bribes to Turkish government officials and was carried out with the blessing of the current president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
According to the above incidents, the relationship between the United States and Turkey has become increasingly tense, and trade sanctions have also expanded. Although Erdoğan vigorously declared his determination to reform, and even called on all the people to take out domestic and foreign currency and gold to save the national economy, analysts questioned the authority substantive effects of this action.
Turkey is the sixth largest steel producer in the world, and Trump pays high tariffs, which of course hits the country's economy. But this storm really affected actually is China. Trump’s economic sanctions target start from Iran, to Russia and now Turkey this time. This is the country in the Belt and Road, which linked with China. Therefore, must also pay attention to China’s dynamics.
