Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Director General Amman’s Chamber of Industry Nael al-Husami said that despite the decision by the Iraqi authorities to exempt Jordanian products from customs fees since the end of 2016, "Iraqi authorities are still collecting fees on Jordanian products.”

Jordanian Trade and Finance Minister Ya'areb al-Qudah announced on Tuesday that the Iraqi authorities have approved to exempt a new list of 170 Jordanian products from customs fees, which were imposed by 30% by the end of 2016, explaining that over 541 Jordanian products have been exempted from fees so far out of a list of 750 products that Jordan had handed over to Iraq.

Husami called on the Jordanian government to address the concerned authorities on the Iraqi side to expedite the application of customs exemptions imposed by the Iraqi government on all its imports, especially after opening the border crossing between the two countries late 2016.

The Jordanian government hopes the opening of the border crossing contributes to re-exporting Jordanian goods to the Iraqi market as before as it has seen a significant decline in recent years.

Husami also called for cooperation between the Jordanian and Iraqi sides to facilitate the flow of Jordanian exports into the Iraqi market so that Jordanian industrial companies can maintain their production capacity, especially in light of the repercussions of the Syrian crisis.

He said that this could happen through allowing Jordanian trucks to enter Iraqi territories to load the goods or deliver Jordanian products to their importers there, especially that Jordanian goods are still very popular in the Iraqi market.

This was reflected in the great demand witnessed by the Jordanian wing at the Baghdad International Fair, which was held last November.

The chamber is studying the idea of organizing a Jordanian industrial exhibition in Baghdad this year titled, “Made in Jordan,” to consolidate the presence of Jordanian industries in the Iraqi market, Hussami added.

He further noted that the volume of Jordanian exports in January amounted to about 70 million dollars and that the chamber's goal is to export goods worth 200 million dollars in the coming period.

*Asharq Al-Awsat