Alwaght- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Turkish nation to sell their gold and US dollars to support the country’s currency which free-fell after US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminums.
In a televised speech on Friday, President Erdogan called on citizens to exchange foreign currency and gold for lira, calling it an "economic war".
"This is a domestic and national struggle," he said, as the lira continued to fall.
In a veiled attack on the US he added: "Some countries have engaged in behaviour that protects coup plotters and knows no laws or justice."
"Relations with countries who behave like this have reached a point beyond salvaging."
Trump, who imposed sanctions on senior Turkish officials earlier this month for their role in the detention of an American pastor over his alleged role in 2016 failed coup, took to twitter on Friday and said:
"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% and Steel 50%. Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!"
On Friday the currency dropped as much as 20 percent at one point, the biggest one-day fall since a 2001 financial crisis in Turkey. It had already fallen more than 40% in the past year.
Turkey also warned it would retaliate against the US tariffs move.
"The United States should know that the only result that such sanctions and pressure will bring... will be harming our relationship as allies," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
The two Nato members are at odds on a range of issues – US support for Kurdish militias in Syria, Ankara's plans to buy Russian missile defense systems and how to punish the alleged plotters of a failed coup in Turkey in 2016.
