Türkiye on Friday mentioned it was engaged in negotiations with Syria after experiences steered that the interim authorities of the war-torn nation overhauled the tariff system and dramatically elevated customs duties on imports.
Kilometers-long truck traces are mentioned to have piled up close to border crossings between the 2 nations after the brand new authorities in Syria raised import tariffs by as much as 300%, in keeping with native media experiences.
Türkiye has been the primary backer of the opposition forces that ousted longtime dictator Bashar Assad final month and has since pledged to assist Syria’s reconstruction and financial revival.
The sudden hike in tariffs precipitated main disruptions, with vehicles reportedly backing up for miles on the borders. Over 3,000 vehicles and trailers had been reported to be ready, with the road stretching over 6 kilometers (over 3.5 miles), non-public broadcaster CNBC-e mentioned Friday.
The Ministries of Trade and Foreign Affairs have engaged in intensive diplomatic and business talks with Syrian authorities to resolve the difficulty that’s mentioned to have introduced commerce to a halt.
In a press release on Friday, the Trade Ministry mentioned consultations had been held on Thursday, including that negotiations would proceed subsequent week, with an in-person assembly deliberate.
The ministry mentioned Syria had adopted a unified customs tariff system as of Jan. 11 that it mentioned could be utilized in any respect border crossings and customs factors all through the nation.
It nonetheless mentioned each nations have expressed mutual curiosity in “establishing a brand new and extra complete free commerce settlement.”
Following Assad’s fall, officers expressed optimism that the commerce quantity between Türkiye and Syria might attain $10 billion within the close to future.
The quantity stood at $2.3 billion in 2010, in keeping with the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), earlier than the civil battle broke out. Syria’s financial construction quickly collapsed as of 2011 because of the battle, which severely impacted items alternate with Türkiye.
In 2012, the commerce quantity plummeted to $565 million. It elevated over time however by no means achieved pre-2011 ranges. According to the TurkStat knowledge, Türkiye exported items value over $1.95 billion to Syria in 2024.
The Trade Ministry on Friday mentioned Turkish corporations would proceed to play an energetic function in Syria’s reconstruction course of.
“We reiterate once again that we are ready to cooperate with our Syrian brothers and sisters toward common goals,” the assertion mentioned.
Source: www.dailysabah.com