Transit fees collected by Iran at its joint border with Turkey could diminish the positive impact of the recent agreement between the two countries over tariffs on their preferential trade, the head of Joint Iran-Turkey Commerce Council said in Tabriz, on Thursday.
In a bid to increase bilateral trade, Iran and Turkey signed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) last Wednesday which decreases the customs clearance tariffs for 265 items of good, Reza Kami said. However, the fuel spat between the two countries, which prompted Iran to claim the fuel rate difference from the Turkish trucks crossing its border, will probably negate the positive impact of the agreement, he warned.
As IRNA quoted him, Kami said that the transit tax imposed by both sides is currently at 50 euros per each 100 kilometers, which has already doubled transportation costs. He added that the move does not bode well for the two countries’ objective to implement the preferential trade agreement.
The preferential tariff system, which compels both nations to levy lower rates of duty on imports from each other than they do on imports from other countries, is expected to further ease transaction of goods and services between Iran and Turkey, he noted.
Iran-Turkey preferential trade agreement was signed on January 29, when the then Turkish Prime Minister (now President) Recep Tayyip Erdogan, paid an official visit to Tehran.
According to this agreement, the tariffs on 125 items of Iranian goods are decreased in Turkey’s favor and those of 140 Turkish goods in favor of Iran.
Signing preferential trade agreement with different countries can pave the way for Iran to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).
