BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of traders and customs clearance company owners protested in central Baghdad on Sunday, demanding that the Iraqi government reverse recently imposed tariffs that they say have significantly increased costs and disrupted trade.
The new tariffs, which took effect on January 1, were implemented in an effort to reduce the country’s debt and reduce its reliance on oil revenue as oil prices fall.
Iraq faces debt of more than 90 trillion Iraqi dinars ($69 billion) and remains dependent on oil for about 90% of its revenue despite attempts to diversify.
But traders say the new tariffs – as high as 30% in some cases – impose an unfair burden on them. Opponents have filed a lawsuit seeking to have the decision reduced, and Iraq’s federal supreme court is due to rule on Wednesday.
Demonstrators gathered outside the General Administration of Customs on Sunday, chanting anti-corruption slogans and rejecting the new fees.
“We used to pay around 3 million dinars per container, but now they are demanding up to 14 million dinars in some cases,” said Haider al-Safi, owner of a shipping and customs clearance company. “Even the cost of baby milk has increased from about 495,000 dinars to almost 3 million dinars.”
He said the new tariffs had led to a backlog of goods at the southern port of Umm Qasr in Iraq, adding that electric vehicles that were previously exempt from tariffs were now subject to a 15% fee.
“The main victims are citizens with limited incomes, government employees whose wages barely make ends meet, people who have to pay rent, have children in school – they will all be affected by the market,” said Mohammad Samir, a wholesaler in Baghdad.
Protesters also accuse influential groups of facilitating the release of goods in exchange for lower unofficial payments, calling it widespread corruption. Many traders are now considering importing through the Kurdistan Region, where fees are lower, they said.
The protests coincided with a nationwide strike by shop owners, who closed markets and shops in several areas of Baghdad to oppose higher tariffs. In main business districts, shops remained closed and banners reading “Tariffs are killing citizens” were hung.