Jordan-Iraq business symposium seeks to tackle trade woes

AMMAN — A Jordanian delegation on Sunday discussed the challenges arising from the Iraqi Cabinet's decision to exempt Jordanian goods, ban imports and protect goods.

Talks were held during a virtual joint symposium between the Jordan Chamber of Industry and Iraqi Chamber of Commerce, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The challenges include the Iraqi Cabinet's resolution No.25 for 2019 to exclude several goods manufactured in Jordan, in addition to “the lack of consistency” in enforcing the resolution, which was suspended and reintroduced numerous times without informing the Jordanian side, Petra said.

Talks also covered the continuous amendments to the lists of prohibited imports and protected goods, as well as limitations on importing certain manufactured goods by land.

The gathering also discussed difficulties related to high transit and domestic transport costs from the local market to Iraq, preventing empty Iraqi trucks from entering the Kingdom for loading purposes.

Another issue is the shortage of Iraqi trucks, which delays shipping, as well as the issuance of fines by Jordanian Customs on cars loaded with made-in Jordan goods that lack customs declaration.

Variable tariff rate on imports from Iraq, Iraq's requirement for invoice and certificate of origin and certificate of conformity to specifications to be certified by Iraqi Embassy in Amman and the Jordanian Foreign Ministry were also among the challenges discussed.

During the event, solutions were proposed to ease the flow of goods between the two countries, including amending the list of exempted products and exempting the products that are not manufactured in Jordan, as well as adding more goods that do not “harm” the Iraqi industries.

The meeting’s proposals include holding consultations with Jordan in the event of initiating any amendments related to the Iraqi customs exemption and allocating a quota for Jordanian products to be excluded from Iraqi protection fees, Petra reported.

The Jordanian delegation called for reducing costs and supporting the transport of goods to protect competitiveness in the Iraqi market.

They also called for increasing the number of Iraqi trucks entering the exchange zone by 20 per cent, cancelling the fine for lack of customs declaration, speeding up clearance procedures and enforcing the Iraqi Cabinet's resolution No. 13 for 2019 to standardise customs procedures and duties at all border crossings effective as of February 17, 2019.