Turkey's foreign minister: Donald Trump's tariffs hurt NATO alliance Turkey is 'no rogue regime that can be shaken down on a whim.'

Mevlut Cavusoglu | Opinion contributor

Aiming to undermine an ally’s economy to score domestic political points is deeply misguided. Alienating an ally with which your country shares vital national interests is self-defeating.

President Trump was right when he called on members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to step up their defense spending. But new American sanctions targeting Turkey — and the threat of more to come — alienate one of the few NATO allies that has been ahead of the curve.

Turkey is committed to being an ally

In 2006, NATO set an official target for members to spend on defense: 2% of their gross domestic product. The target, however, is only a "guideline," and just a handful of NATO members have moved toward meeting it. By contrast, Turkey has committed to reaching this goal by 2024, and our spending on military equipment is already above the NATO guideline of 20%. We also are one of the oldest and most strategically located members of NATO — serving as guardian of the alliance’s southern flank and providing its second largest military force.

The economic sanctions Mr. Trump’s administration is imposing on Turkey, however, are poised to disrupt any atmosphere of cooperation — all while global threats demand that we strengthen, not weaken, the ties that bind us together.

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Syria is a case in point. As the situation reached a critical stage, Turkey stood out as one of the few nations willing to welcome large numbers of refugees, and is playing a key role in navigating Syria’s political future. As a high-ranking State Department official recently told Congress, Turkey “has suffered more casualties from terrorism in the past several years than any other Ally and hosts 3.5 million Syrian refugees.”

And while ISIS has been delivered a major blow in the Middle East, it still represents an ongoing global threat. Every day, Turkish security officials go door to door hunting down ISIS militants who seek to slip into Europe from Syria via Turkey. Over the past two years, we have arrested hundreds of suspected ISIS members, helping to prevent the group’s spread to Western capitals. In the face of this threat, Turkey has been the tip of the spear.

Trump should try diplomacy instead of tariffs

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base hosts American troops who are serving on the frontlines of the fight against ISIS. It has been a critical staging ground, putting allied forces hours closer than other bases in the region and has made a substantial difference in the ability to successfully root out ISIS.

This snapshot of the role Turkey plays in our 2018 world ought to make plain that we are no rogue regime that can be shaken down on a whim.

The decision to double U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Turkey has already been roundly criticized, both in Europe and the United States. The sanctions imposed, while intended to impact the Turkish economy, will damage the interests of American and European businesses along the way. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned President Trump in a blunt statement that tariffs will “harm the U.S. economy and undermine American global leadership, and evidence of harm to U.S. workers, farmers, and businesses is mounting.”

This reckless escalation needs to stop. The U.S. and Turkey may have divergent views on significant issues, but we strategically align on a wide range of others. For everyone’s sake, we should address our disagreements with diplomacy, rather than threats and provocation, and with a commitment to facts and perspective.

Mevlut Cavusoglu is Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MevlutCavusoglu