‘US tariffs may be beneficial for Türkiye’

ANKARA

The tariffs announced by Donald Trump are “relatively beneficial” for Türkiye, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has said.

“Initially, a 10 percent tariff was announced on Türkiye. For now, this works to our advantage,” he said.

Yılmaz noted that the Turkish Trade Minister will soon travel to the U.S to negotiate the tariffs, adding that Türkiye aims for $100 billion bilateral trade, which currently surpassed $32 billion, with Washington.

“These are transitional periods when risks are heightened. We must stay strong,” Yılmaz said.

“Rising tariffs will lure countries, which sell goods to the U.S., to enter other markets aggressively, which we need to be cautious about. On the other hand, commodity prices have fallen, so we can also see a positive impact here,” the Vice President added.

Central Bank has enough reserves

The Central Bank's reserves are at a sufficient level, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said, adding that markets, which recently experienced volatility, have stabilized.

There was a certain impact on financial markets, but it gradually subsided, Yılmaz said in an interview with private broadcaster CNNTürk on April 5.

“Our President [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] and the economic management sent out certain messages, and the markets calmed down,” Yılmaz added.

Yılmaz stated that some losses occurred, but reserves did not fall below the critical threshold.

They are fully committed to the economic program and will continue to implement it decisively, the vice president said.

“There are no changes in our main objectives. Additional steps can always be considered when necessary,” he furthered.

What matters in the economy are the fundamentals, he said, noting that the current account deficit is at reasonable levels and despite earthquake-related expenditures, the budget is under control.

“Our reserves are sufficient… The Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves are solid,” Yılmaz furthered.

“The short-term effects should not be exaggerated. There has been some exchange rate volatility. In terms of foreign trade, it has both costs and benefits,” he said.

Concerns were raised about whether there would be long-term turmoil similar to the Gezi events, according to the vice president.

“It was, however, soon, seen that this was not the case. CHP elected a temporary mayor from within its own ranks [to replace Ekrem İmamoğlu]. This proved that the mechanisms were functioning,” he said.