Gov't to provide TL 1.2 billion support for Turkish industries, minister says

The government will provide 1.2 billion Turkish liras ($183 million) to support local industries, Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank announced Tuesday.

The suuport package aims to reduce current account deficit and encourage production of high value-added outputs, Varank said in a statement.

The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his attack on Turkish economy on Friday by increasing U.S. tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel imports to 20 percent and 50 percent, respectively, at the same time that Minister of Treasury and Finance of Turkey Berat Albayrak was announcing the country's new economic approach.

Trump's policies pushed lira to new record lows against foreign currencies despite the economy has been giving signs of strong recovery over the past months.

The attacks on the Turkish economy have been widely denounced by Turkey's allies and friends, including Germany, Russia, China, Iran, Italy and Pakistan.

Turkey has moved proactively to defend against the attacks, as the Treasury, Central Bank, Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BBDK), Capital Markets Board (SPK) and other institutions continue to take necessary steps for financial stability.

The political rift between Turkey and the U.S. that has escalated with the case of pastor Andrew Brunson who is being tried by the Turkish judiciary because of his links with the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and PKK, a Kurdish separatist armed group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. He is currently on house arrest in Turkey's Izmir province, which has led Trump to wage an economic war against Turkey by imposing sanctions on the country's ministers and additional tariffs on steel imports.