Tension between Turkey and the US continued to rise Monday after Ankara officially initiated a complaint with the World Trade Organization against additional tariffs imposed by Washington on Turkish steel and aluminum imports.
“Turkey has requested WTO dispute consultations with the US concerning additional import duties imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum products,” the Organization said in a statement on its website.
It added that "Turkey claims that the measures are inconsistent with a number of provisions of the WTO's Agreement on Safeguards and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994.”
This month, US President Donald Trump said he would double tariffs on Turkish metal imports over Turkey’s trial on terrorism charges of a US evangelical Christian pastor, who has lived in Turkey for two decades.
The Turkish letter to the WTO explained that the doubling of the rates amounts to an additional violation.
According to the WTO dispute consultations, both sides have 60 days to seek a solution, before the issue goes to the Dispute Settlement Body.
Meanwhile, Ankara said it detained two men suspected of firing shots at the US Embassy in the Turkish capital.
A statement issued by the Ankara governor’s office said the two men in their late 30s had been detained and they both confessed to the shooting.
It added both suspects had criminal records and their links were being investigated.
However, the statement failed to explain the motives that pushed the two men to commit the shooting.
Also on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a prerecorded address to the Turkish people ahead of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday that Turkey's currency crisis is the result of an "attack" on his country's economy.
“The aim of those responsible for Turkey's currency crisis was to bring Turkey and its people to their knees,” the President said, adding that Ankara had the power and ability to overcome the crisis.
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