Turkey’s Erdogan vows to boycott Apple’s iPhones

By Michael Grothaus

August 14, 2018

The Turkish president has vowed to boycott American electronics in his country, including Apple’s iPhone, reports Bloomberg. The boycott threat comes after the U.S. imposed sanctions on two Turkish ministers and doubled tariffs on Turkey’s steel and aluminum imports. Those moves in part led to the Turkish lira crashing this week–something Erdogan claims is an economic attack against his country. In a televised address to his nation, Erdogan said he would retaliate against the U.S. by boycotting American electronic goods:

“There is a cost for those who are plotting the operation [against Turkey]. If they’ve got iPhone, there is Samsung on the other side. In our country, there is [Turkish-made smartphone] Venus Vestel.”

Erdogan did not specify when the boycott would start or how the Turkish government would enforce it.

 
 

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