In this file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump (L) welcomes Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on May 16, 2017. The ties between the two NATO allies have been strained by political, military and trade disputes. (Xinhua)
ANKARA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will impose tariffs worth 267 million U.S. dollars on U.S. goods from Thursday in retaliation for Washington's levies on steel and aluminum imports, Turkish Ministry of Economy announced.
The total tariff burden imposed by Turkey on the U.S. imports equals the additional costs Turkey needs to pay due to the tariffs imposed by the United States, said the statement.
"We cannot and will not allow Turkey to be wrongly blamed for U.S. economic challenges," said Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci.
The tariffs will be imposed on U.S. coal, paper, walnut, almonds, tobacco, unprocessed rice, whisky, automobiles, cosmetics, machinery equipment and petrochemical products.
The highest additional customs duties will be imposed on whiskey and automobiles at rates of 40 percent and 35 percent respectively, said the statement.
In March, U.S. President Donald Trump announced to impose a 25-percent tariff on imported steel and a 10-percent one on imported aluminum, sparking an outcry from many countries and causing turmoil in global stock market.
The U.S. tariffs have been imposed on Europe, Canada and Mexico, some of its biggest trade partners, since June 1, after their temporary exemptions expired.
Turkey is the world's eighth largest steel producer and the sixth largest steel exporter to the U.S. after Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Russia.
