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How much damage can Arab states do to Turkish economy?

As Turkey’s Arab adversaries step up efforts to counter Ankara’s actions in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has reportedly started a covert boycott of Turkish goods.
People walk past a screen showing rates at a currency exchange agency near Grand bazaar, in Istanbul, on September 24, 2020. - Turkey's central bank on September 24, 2020 raised its main interest for the first time since September 2018, boosting the rate by two percentage points to help the lira recover from historic lows. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Turkey’s ailing economy, hit by the COVID-19 pandemic atop severe currency woes since 2018, is now facing economic reprisals by Arab countries incensed with Ankara’s policies in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has already started an undeclared boycott of Turkish goods, according to Turkish exporters, amid rising Arab calls for economic retaliation against Turkey.

Egypt has been at the forefront of efforts to create a united Arab stance against Turkey, most recently at the Sept. 9 meeting of the Arab League. Whether Arab nations can mount an efficient joint action against Turkey is a question on its own, but the Turkish economy today is too vulnerable to dismiss or absorb large-scale reprisals.

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