( File Photo: VCG)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will sanction multiple American officials in response to the US's trade threat, in an op-ed published in the New York Times on Saturday. 

US 'wrong' to threaten Turkey 

The two governments have been at odds over a wide range of topics, from diverging interests in Syria, to Turkey’s willing to buy Russian defense systems and the case of evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson, who is on trial in Turkey on terrorism charges, according to Reuters. 

Pursuing trade protectionism, Trump administration treated Turkey with unilateral trade threats instead of international dispute settlement mechanism.

The embattled Turkish lira tumbled 16 percent against the dollar on Friday, with US President Donald Trump saying he had doubled steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey in comments that contributed to the currency's further slide. 

Erdogan on Saturday said it was wrong of the US to try to bring Turkey into line with threats. In the New York Times article, Erdogan warns that if the US “failure to reverse this trend of unilateralism and disrespect”, Turkey will start looking for new allies.

Turkey-US relationship 'in jeopardy' 

In the New York Times article, Erdogan said, "Attempting to force my government to intervene in the judicial process is not in line with our Constitution or our shared democratic values." 

“Unless the US starts respecting Turkey’s sovereignty and proves that it understands the dangers that our nation faces, our partnership could be in jeopardy,” Erdogan wrote, calling that Turkey will take necessary steps to protect national interests.

Turkey responds to US trade threat

In response to the US’s trade threat, Erdogan said Turkey will retaliate by sanctioning multiple American officials.

Erdogan downplayed the currency crisis in a speech on Friday, advising Turks not to be worried over exchange rate fluctuations. 

Erdogan repeated a call to Turks to sell dollars and euros to support the lira to win what he described as a "war of independence," Reuters reported on Saturday. 

( with input from CGTN)