Mubasher: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday stated that his country will boycott US electronic products, including Apple’s iPhones, condemning the evident "economic attack" against the country.

Turkish businesses must continue to produce and export the country’s own goods, Erdogan said in a televised speech, adding that the US electronics would be hit with sanctions.

“If they have iPhone, there is Samsung on the other side, […] and we have our own telephone brands,” he said, adding that the company would produce sufficiently for itself. “We have to serve better quality goods than we are importing from them,” according to a translation by CNBC.

The Turkish president mentioned Vestel Venus phones as a locally-manufactured alternative for Turks to use, which sends the company’s shares higher by almost 5%.

Erdogan also called on the Turkish people to change US dollars into the lira in order to sustain “the dignity” of the currency, urging them to stand in the face of the greenback’s strength and inflation in the same manner they stood against the failed coup of his presidency in 2016.

The statement came in defiance to Washington which held firm to its demand that Turkey has to release a jailed American pastor Andrew Brunson.

US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium imports and imposed sanctions against two of the country’s ministers, which triggered a sell-off in Turkish assets, leading the Turkish lira (TRY)  to lose a quarter of its value this month.

On a side note, the Turkish stock market recovered on Tuesday after the troubled lira rebounded from its record low earlier in the day, strengthening around 6% against the US dollar to TRY 7.2362 on Monday.

The recovery in the Turkish currency came after the central bank pledged to provide liquidity.

By 1:39 pm GMT, the USD/TRY pair dropped 5.01% to TRY 6.5392.