Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a boycott of American electronics in response to increased tariffs the Trump administration put into effect. In this announcement, President Erdogan specifically declared that a ban should be put on the billion-dollar brand Apple (AAPL  ), saying that if the United States has iPhones, "there is Samsung (KRX: 005930) on the other side, and we have our own Vestel here." After the nationalistic statement, Vestel (IST: VESTL), a Turkish electronics company, rose 5%.

Although Erdogan has voiced his desire for the Turks to abandon Apple, far more Turkish citizens own iPhones than Vestel. At the end of 2017, approximately 2% of Turkish smartphone users had a Vestel, compared to the 17.41 percent of those who used Apple. It is clear that if Turkey actually goes ahead with the ban, it have little to no effect on Apple's business as a whole, especially given that Apple's largest markets are composed of the US and China.

Tensions are rising between the two nations since the Trump administration levied sanctions on Turkey. Last week, Trump increased tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports by twofold. As a result, the value of the lira decreased to an all-time low of 7.24 to the dollar. Turkey's economy has recently suffered from multiple losses. In 2018 alone, the value of the lira has decreased more than 40%. Many US and European investors are worried given the reliance of European banks maintaining investments in Turkey. Some analysts have noted that the Turkish economic crisis may lead to traders abandoning new markets as well.

Turkey is also facing trade tensions with the US over the arrest of the American pastor Andrew Brunson, who they have held on charges of terrorism. The pastor has been held in Turkey for approximately a year and a half. The Trump administration has pressed Turkey for Brunson's release.

To support Turkey's slipping economy, Erdogan has appointed a financial minister to address inflation. Erdogan also called for the citizens to convert US dollars to lira. Multiple supporters of Erdogan visited the central bank to convert approximately $100,000 of US dollars, chanting "Damn America," and holding a banner that stated "We will win the economic war," Erdogan reinforced his followers, stating, "Every product that we buy in foreign currency from outside, we will produce them here and sell abroad."

The central bank's action has not solved greater issues surrounding the decrease in lira value. Craig Botham, Emerging Markets Economist, states that, "What you want to see is tight monetary policy, a tight fiscal policy and a recognition that there might be some short-term economic pain - but without it there's just no credibility of promises to restabilize things."