President Trump was not wrong on Monday when he said he could "quickly destroy the Turkish economy" if Washington's NATO ally continues its military invasion of northern Syria. But the loudly announced sanctions he imposed on Monday had no effect on the breakaway country's economy.
In contrast, on Tuesday, the Turkish lira actually rose against the dollar after US sanctions were seen on the market - including a return to 50% tariffs on steel exports and the termination of the "$ 100 billion trade deal" between two countries.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, steel exports to Turkey to all countries account for only 7.6% of total exports, while the US market accounts for 5% of steel exports to Turkey.
Whether further sanctions will halt the Turkish invasion is a big question, Aaron Stein, director of the Middle East program at the Institute for Foreign Policy Research, told Reuters.
"The only thing that will stop them is if the regime of Bashar al-Assad or the Russians move their forces in significant numbers where they stop," Stein explained.
The Turkish stock market has lost about 7% of its value since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered his military to Syria last week.
Congress can force the president to follow through on his threats against Turkey. Sens Lindsay Graham and Chris Van Hollen are pushing for an early Senate vote on a sanctions package that targets Erdogan personally and Turkey's energy and military industries.
Still, Trump could seriously hurt Turkey's already shaky economy, which is slowly recovering from last year's currency crisis. Last year's Trump initiative to raise tariffs on steel triggered a 40 percent drop in the lira that began a few months earlier.
According to the International Trade Administration, the United States is the fourth largest buyer of Turkish steel, consuming about 5 percent of the country's production.
However, American manufacturers may also suffer from the increase in duties. The first may be a plant in Byton, Texas, which produces tubular products from imported Turkish steel.
