President Donald Trump signed an executive order sanctioning Turkish officials, hiking tariffs on Turkish steel up to 50% and "immediately" halting trade negotiations with the country, Vice President Mike Pence confirmed Monday. Trump had announced the order in a lengthy statement posted to Twitter earlier Monday afternoon. "This Order will enable the United States to impose powerful additional sanctions on those who may be involved in serious human rights abuses, obstructing a ceasefire, preventing displaced persons from returning home, forcibly repatriating refugees, or threatening the peace, security, or stability in Syria," Trump's statement read. Trump TWEET The retaliatory measures followed Trump's decision to order the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Syria's northern border with Turkey, which has enabled Turkish forces to launch an offensive against the U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in Syria. Turkey and Kurdish groups have clashed for years, and Ankara recently signaled that it planned to carry out operations against the Kurds near Syria's northern border with Turkey. The White House announced Oct. 6, following a call between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that it would pull U.S. troops out of the area.

The abrupt foreign policy shift drew a rare wave of bipartisan criticism against the president, including from some of his most committed allies in Congress. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for instance, publicly trashed Trump's move and announced plans to work with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a joint resolution to overturn the withdrawal. Spokesmen for the Kurds have accused the U.S. of having "abandoned us to a Turkish massacre." Trump took to social media to defend himself against the torrent of criticism. He pushed back on the more hawkish voices against him, writing Sunday: "Those that mistakenly got us into the Middle East Wars are still pushing to fight." Shortly before announcing the sanctions and tariff hikes, Trump wrote in a thread of tweets that "Anyone who wants to assist Syria in protecting the Kurds is good with me, whether it is Russia, China, or Napoleon Bonaparte." "I hope they all do great," Trump said of whoever might come to help the Kurds, a stateless ethnic group that was integral to helping the U.S. defeat the ISIS caliphate in the Middle East. "We are 7,000 miles away!" Trump TWEET In May, the U.S. halved tariffs on Turkish steel imports to 25%, even as it ripped up an existing preferential trade status with the country. The import duties on Turkish steel and aluminum had originally been jacked up amid Trump's campaign to pressure Turkey to release Pastor Andrew Brunson, an American who had been detained there on terrorism charges that he denied. Brunson was released last year. "I have been perfectly clear with President Erdogan: Turkey's action is precipitating a humanitarian crisis and setting conditions for possible war crimes," Trump said in the statement Monday.

"Turkey must ensure the safety of civilians, including religious and ethnic minorities, and is now, or may be in the future, responsible for the ongoing detention of ISIS terrorists in the region. Unfortunately, Turkey does not appear to be mitigating the humanitarian effects of its invasion," the president said. "The United States will aggressively use economic sanctions to target those who enable, facilitate, and finance these heinous acts in Syria," Trump's statement said. "I am fully prepared to swiftly destroy Turkey's economy if Turkish leaders continue down this dangerous and destructive path."

Read Trump's full statement below: