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Trump signed an order to increase import tax on steel from Turkey to 50% and stopped negotiating a $ 100 billion trade agreement with Ankara.
US President Donald Trump signed a decree authorizing sanctions on Turkish officials in connection with a military operation in northern Syria. "Unfortunately, Turkey does not seek to mitigate the humanitarian consequences of the attack," Trump said.
President Trump press conference outside the White House on October 4 Photo: AFP
"The United States will increase Turkey's import tax on steel by up to 50%, and stop negotiating a $ 100 billion trade agreement with Ankara," Trump's decree reads.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Washington also included the Defense Secretary, the Interior Minister and the Turkish Energy Minister and his subordinate agencies on the list of sanctions, freezing property in the US and banning all deal with them.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump's close ally in parliament, welcomed the White House boss's decision. However, some Republican lawmakers say this is not enough to deter Ankara.
"President Trump telephoned Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to urge the country to immediately stop the attack, apply a ceasefire and sit at the negotiating table with Kurdish forces," the Vice President said. US Mike Pence told reporters today, saying Trump asked him to lead the delegation to Turkey as soon as possible.
The Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said nearly 1,000 US troops had begun withdrawing from Syria at the behest of President Trump. Only a small unit of 150 men remained at the Al Tanf base in the south of the country.
The Turkish army began to attack the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with the core of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northeastern Syria on October 9. Ankara considers the YPG to be a terrorist organization and wants to push the Kurdish militants about 30 kilometers behind the border to create a safe buffer.
The White House on October 7 announced its withdrawal from northern Syria and indicated that it would not prevent Turkey, but US President Donald Trump later tweeted that he would not abandon the Kurds.
