In a Tweet posted on Monday, October 14th, President Trump announced that Section 232 tariffs on imports of Turkish steel would be bumped back up to 50% effective immediately.

The additional tariffs on Turkish steel were initially put in place in August of 2018 and were subsequently reduced to 25% in May of this year.

The announcement of increased tariffs on Turkish steel follows the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, with President Trump making it clear that the uptick in tariffs are a means of dissuading Turkey from undertaking further “destabilizing actions in northeast Syria” given the absence of U.S. troops.

In addition to the heightened tariffs, Trump has also halted all trade negotiations with Turkey and threatened Turkey with future economic sanctions should the country’s leadership continue down its current path.

Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.