Turkey will stick to strict financial discipline, whose main priority will be the reduction of inflation to less than 10 percent, Turkish Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak said on Thursday during a video conference with foreign investors.
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2018) Turkey will stick to strict financial discipline, whose main priority will be the reduction of inflation to less than 10 percent, Turkish Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak said on Thursday during a video conference with foreign investors.
On August 10, US President Donald Trump said he had authorized the doubling previously imposed import tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel to 20 percent and 50 percent, respectively. The US move resulted in the Turkish lira hitting a historic low. The Turkish lira, though, strengthened on Wednesday and Thursday after media reports about Qatar's intention to invest in the Turkish economy $15 billion.
"We will work to achieve a more sustainable growth with the use of precautionary measures in macroeconomy, strict fiscal policy ... The inflation reduction is our main priority. We want to bring it down to a single-digit level as soon as possible," Albayrak said as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.
The Turkish minister also refuted reports about talks with the International Monetary Fund.
"We are not in talks with the International Monetary Fund. We will continue to ensure funding from international markets ... We are aware of recent fluctuations, challenges. We know our country's potential. We will emerge stronger with steps we will take," Albayrak indicated.
On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Washington of waging "economic war" against Ankara after the increased levies were announced. In response, Turkey doubled tariffs on some US imports, including cars, alcohol and tobacco.
