10.8 C
Frankfurt am Main

Syrian tariff hikes prompt Turkish exporters to reroute their goods via Iraqi border

Must read

The interim Syrian government’s recent decision to standardize tariffs, which resulted in a significant increase in duty on imports from Turkey, has forced Turkish exporters to reroute their goods through the Habur border gate with Iraq in southeastern Turkey, the Ekonomim news website reported on Friday.

Syria’s new General Authority for Land and Maritime Transport announced earlier this month a standard tariff that will apply at all land, sea and air border crossings. While tariffs on some goods were reduced by 50 to 60 percent, tariffs on imports entering through the northern border crossings, including the Bab al-Hawa crossing with Turkey, increased by up to 500 percent.

The increased duty on imports from Turkey sparked protests from Turkish exporters, leading to queues of trucks up to six kilometers long at the border gates as companies halted trade.

The financial challenges in exporting goods to Syria have driven Turkish firms to find a solution by altering border crossings. Many exporters are now focusing on the Habur border gate, called the İbrahim Khalil border crossing on the Iraqi side and controlled by the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Hacı Mustafa Celkanlı, chairman of the Kilis Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s board of directors, told Ekonomim that goods from Turkey are currently being sent to regions under Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) control from the Habur border gate, loaded to Syrian trucks there, and then sent across Syria.

The PYD is the political arm of the main Syrian Kurdish militia, the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Turkey views both as terrorist groups and offshoots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a bloody war in the country’s southeast since 1984 and is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.

Saying that a truck that passes through Syrian customs for $60,000 can cross via Iraq for just $10,000, Celkanlı warned that urgent measures must be taken regarding the exports being conducted through PYD-controlled areas.

He also noted that the exemption from taxes for Arab League countries leaves no chance for Turkey to compete.

New assessment for certain goods

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Trade Ministry announced on Friday that following discussions with Syrian government officials, it had been decided that the increased duty for Turkey would be reassessed for certain products.

The ministry also stated that an agreement had been reached to begin negotiations to revive the free trade agreement, which had been suspended due to the 13-year civil war in Syria, with a focus on a broader economic partnership.

The changes in the tariffs coincide with the general reopening of the Syrian economy following the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The policy aims to stabilize the treasury and strengthen local industry. However, protests and rising tensions indicate that the implementation of this policy remains controversial across the country.

More News
Latest News