President Trump signed an executive order on Monday imposing sanctions on Turkish officials involved in the country’s military operation in northeast Syria, the Trump administration said.
The sanctions will hit current and former Turkish officials, including three Turkish ministers, as well as the country’s ministries of energy and defense, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both said.
Under the sanctions, the Secretary of State can deny a visa to any person determined to be a “corporate officer” of a sanctioned person, according to the order.
The administration also increased steel tariffs on the country from 25 percent to 50 percent, and halted a trade deal worth $100 billion, a senior administration official said.
The punishment comes as the Trump administration pressures Turkey to halt its invasion of Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria.
“If Turkey’s operation continues, it will exacerbate a growing and daunting humanitarian crisis, with potentially disastrous consequences. To avoid suffering further sanctions imposed under this new Executive Order Turkey must immediately cease its unilateral offensive in northeast Syria and return to a dialogue with the United States on security in northeast Syria,” Pompeo said in a statement Monday evening.
Trump has received harsh criticism — including from top Republicans — for pulling US troops out of the region as Turkey announced it intended to invade Kurdish regions in Syria last week.
Democrats continued to criticize the president for his foreign policy on Monday, saying the sanctions do not go far enough to ensure peace in the region.
“President Trump has unleashed an escalation of chaos and insecurity in Syria. His announcement of a package of sanctions against Turkey falls very short of reversing that humanitarian disaster,” Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.