Turkey to 'continue taking steps' to save lira's value

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA

Turkey will continue to take steps to protect the Turkish lira's value in international trade, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a symposium in the capital Ankara, Albayrak said: "The U.S. dollar has been turned into a tool for diplomatic punishment. The U.S. dollar has lost its credibility."

The minister said Turkey will take steps in light of the free market to reduce companies' currency risk.

"We will identify companies affected by rising foreign currencies and we will continue to put them at ease," he added.

He also said tangible and effective reforms will be the most important part of Turkey's economic policy in the coming period.

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) and the Central Bank took all necessary steps to reduce stress on the market, Albayrak underlined.

"Like all stakeholders, we will take all necessary steps to strengthen our banking sector's structure," he said.

He stressed that using Turkish liras in trade would be provided throughout the country.

"We protect our lira. In the days to come, we will see a more powerful lira," he said.

He noted that several countries, especially from Europe, supported Turkey against the additional U.S. tariffs.

U.S. President Donald Trump last week ramped up his attack on Turkey by increasing U.S. tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel imports.