WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he has authorized to double the tariffs on steel and aluminum products from Turkey to 50 percent and 20 percent respectively.
Tensions ramped up between the two countries over detention of an American pastor by Turkey. Trump tweeted Friday that the U.S.-Turkey ties "are not good at this time!"
He added that the Turkish currency Lira "slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!"
The Turkish lira has fallen more than 10 percent since last week when the United States slapped sanctions on two Turkish ministers. On early Friday, the currency hit an all-time low of 6.30 against the U.S. dollar.
The two sides seemed to have failed to resolve the deadlock in bilateral talks in Washington, as U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Thursday that "we would define progress as Pastor Brunson being brought home."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday also dismissed concerns over the tumbling lira and called on his nation to "have no worries."
Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry announced a "new economic model," aiming to stabilize their economic growth.
