US Uses Tariffs Punishing Other States for Political Gain - Turkish Opposition

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The US administration imposes economic tariffs on goods from other countries to reap political benefits, and impress own voters, Ozturk Yilmaz, the deputy chair of the Turkish opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) responsible for foreign relations, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"This [US tariffs introduction] is a violation of free trade and violation of founding principles of all trade organizations. The US is threatening the world using all available instruments to punish countries like Russia, the European Union, Iran, Turkey and other countries. As long as they see a political profit they do whatever they can," Yilmaz said.

The CHP politician added that Washington's sanctions on Turkey were linked to US upcoming midterm elections.

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"Trump administration wants to show American grassroots that they are doing something to punish Turkey to grab more supporters in the run-up to the elections," Yilmaz said.

The politician also noted that the World Trade Organization was, in a way, linked to the United States and could not be considered fully independent, which made Yilmaz express his doubts regarding the impartiality of WTO's assessment.

On Monday, Ankara lodged a dispute complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the additional tariffs imposed by the United States on Turkey's steel and aluminum. The tariffs, announced by US President Donald Trump on August 10, sent Turkish lira downward.

Last week, Turkey announced that it was raising levies on several types of US imports, including tobacco, alcohol and cars, among other products.