Tax shock from the Syrian interim government to Turkey! Trade has come to a standstill.

The border gates in northern Syria, after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024 and the establishment of a temporary government under the control of opposition forces, decided to increase customs duties on imported products from Turkey by 300% to 500%.

EXPORT HAS COME TO A STANDSTILL

Following this decision, exporters in many sectors and Syrian importers began to face significant difficulties, and Turkey's exports to Syria have virtually come to a standstill.

"WE ARE IN CONTACT WITH OUR MINISTRIES"

In a statement regarding the issue, Celal Kadooğlu, President of the Southeastern Anatolia Grain Legumes Oilseeds and Products Exporters' Union, expressed that they are closely monitoring the developments, stating, "We are trying to do our part to solve this problem that affects all our sectors and are continuously in contact with our relevant ministries to find a solution before this crisis deepens. This decision also means that Syrian citizens will face severe inflation and their purchasing power will be completely wiped out."

"THE KILOMETERS-LONG QUEUE IS THE BEST INDICATOR OF THIS"

Continuing his remarks, Kadooğlu stated, "The high taxes applied to many products are even three to four times the production cost of the products," and added: "In Syria, where we used to export an average of 30 million dollars monthly in 2024, our exports from the Syrian border have now come to a standstill due to these high customs duties. The kilometers-long queues formed by trucks at the border are the best indicator of this. We believe that both our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our Ministry of Trade will have positive results in their urgent efforts to resolve this issue with the officials of the temporary government established in Syria."