The President of the Federation of Chambers of Industry calls for punishing Jordanian imports with double fees

The head of the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Industry, Mazen Deerwan, called for the imposition of customs duties of up to 100% on Jordanian cement and a number of high-value imports, as part of what he described as the need to "correct the great imbalance" in the trade balance between the two countries.

In a post on his Facebook page, Derwan said that Syrian products face high customs duties in Jordan of up to 100%, especially goods that characterize the Syrian industry such as clothes and foodstuffs, which were expected to constitute a significant percentage of Syrian exports to the Jordanian market.

Deirwan described the Jordanian government's decision to lift the ban on the import of Syrian products starting today, Wednesday, as "a formality and without a substance", considering that the step "did not translate into practical measures that allow Syrian goods to enter the Jordanian market normally".

The head of the Federation of Chambers of Industry pointed out that the trade balance is currently tilted in favor of Jordan by more than 90%, questioning the extent  to which "this situation is justified."

He added that he would propose to the Syrian government to impose high tariffs on Jordanian cement and high-value imports in order to "correct the deviation in the trade balance", although this approach, he said, is not in line with his convictions calling for economic openness.

Derwan criticized what he considered a "protectionist approach" from the Jordanian side, stressing that the Syrian market is large and growing, and it was expected that Amman would show greater flexibility in order to serve common interests in the long term.