Turkey intends to enhance the local manufacturing of goods the imports of which currently exceed $30 billion, and will increase financial support for enterprises producing such goods, Turkish Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said on Friday.
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2018) Turkey intends to enhance the local manufacturing of goods the imports of which currently exceed $30 billion, and will increase financial support for enterprises producing such goods, Turkish Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said on Friday.
"We are launching local manufacturing of priority product groups, whose imports total at least $30 billion. Development agencies will assist 1,500 projects by allocating 500 million lira [$83 million] to them and additional 100 million lira [$17 million] to support platforms for technology development," Varank said as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.
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.
Turkey in response to the US decision increased tariffs on 22 types of US goods worth $533 million. In particular, the country introduced higher levies on US cars, alcohol, fruit, cosmetics and tobacco.
