Turkey moves to restrict key exports to Israel

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Turkey has moved to restrict exports to Israel of some industrial goods and commodities, as Ankara comes under mounting domestic pressure to show its opposition to the six-month war in Gaza. 

The country’s trade ministry said on Tuesday that it would curb exports of 54 goods, including metals products, fuels and oils, and construction machinery, a day after Turkey’s foreign minister accused Israel of impeding attempts to airlift aid to “starving Gazans”.

The move will disrupt the flow of goods between two countries that have remained significant trading partners despite a bitter row over the Gaza war that was launched in response to Hamas’s October 7 attack.

Turkey exported $5.4bn of goods to Israel last year, making the Jewish state one of the country’s top-15 export destinations. Turkey was Israel’s fifth-biggest import partner, according to customs database Trade Data Monitor.

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan on Monday claimed that Israel had denied Turkey’s request to take part in an air drop of humanitarian aid, saying Ankara would take “a string of measures against Israel until a ceasefire is achieved and Israel allows uninterrupted aid into Gaza”.

“There is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to airlift aid to starving Gazans,” he told a press conference in Ankara.

Israel hit out at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the trade curbs. “Erdoğan is once again sacrificing the economic interests of the Turkish people on behalf of his support for the Hamas murderers in Gaza,” foreign minister Israel Katz said.

Israel’s economic ministry added that it would prepare a “wider list of goods that Israel will prevent Turkey from exporting to Israel”.

Erdoğan has sharply criticised Israel over its offensive against Hamas in the shattered territory, accusing the Jewish state of acts of “genocide” and calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the “butcher of Gaza”. Turkey has also diverged from its western allies in declining to identify Hamas as a terrorist organisation and allowing its members to live in the country.

Despite Erdoğan’s harsh rhetoric, the Turkish president has come under pressure domestically to curtail economic relations with Israel. An Islamist political party made gains in last weekend’s local elections in conservative regions in part by campaigning for firmer measures against Israel and more support for those in Gaza.

Netanyahu has also lashed out at Erdoğan, accusing the Turkish leader of “committing genocide against the Kurds” and holding the “world record for imprisoning journalists”.

Trade between the two countries has remained robust despite the fraying in relations. Turkey exported $1.9bn to Israel in October 2023 to February 2024, down about 30 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

Turkey’s trade ministry on Tuesday said it would restrict the sale of goods including certain iron, steel, and aluminium products, as well as construction materials such as cement, rebar, excavators and forklifts. The trade curbs also covered engine oils, jet fuels and some chemicals.

Turkey did not provide details on how it would carry out its ban, making it difficult to calculate the exact impact of the curbs. Metals and metal products were among Turkey’s biggest exports to Israel last year, accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in trade.