Turkey president asked for Turkish citizens to boycott electronics products from United States

NEWS24.CO.ID - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked for Turkey to boycott electronic products from United States. The move was taken by Erdogan in retaliation for sanctioning tariff increases from Washington on Ankara regarding the detention of US pastors. "We will boycott US products" Erdogan said in his speech on Tuesday, August 14th 2018.

"If United States has an iPhone, on the other hand there is Samsung" he said referring to Apple's US, and South Korean-made cellphones. "We also have Venus and Vestel" he said, referring to Turkish-made cellphones.

Erdogan said Turkey had taken the necessary steps regarding about its economy, amid a slump in the lira currency, which was exacerbated by a dispute with Washington. According to him, it is important to maintain a strong political attitude. "Turning to foreign currency means surrendering to the enemy" Erdogan said as quoted by Reuters news agency.

The two members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) fell to the lowest point since the arrest of US Pastor Andrew Brunson. He was arrested because he was accused of spying and supporting terrorist groups in Turkey.

In addition to the economic pressure that caused lira currency to plummet, US President, Donald Trump also signed a defense budget that stopped selling F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Reported by AFP news agency, Erdogan repeatedly appeared to use Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad. He also gave a speech after thwarting the coup in July 2016, calling on citizens to take to the streets through Facetime, an iPhone application.