Iraq lifts ban on imported cars from Jordan
7/12/2004 17:31
Iraq agreed to temporarily halt a restriction on purchasing Jordan's
imported cars manufactured before 2000 after a meeting between the two sides,
Jordan Times reported Tuesday.
As a result, around 1,000 cars imported by
Jordanian car dealers for sale to Iraq could transport across the border to
Iraq.
Jordanian officials discussed the issue with the Iraqi officials, and
the latter decided to lift the ban until the end of this month, said Mahmoud
Qteishat, Director General of Jordan's Customs Department.
The ban, imposed
last month, has put millions of dollars of Jordanian investment at risk, he
added
Hassan Beituni, President of Jordan's Free Zones Investors Association,
confirmed that around 1,000 cars were exported to Iraq on Monday.
He expected
that the same number of cars will be exported to Iraq everyday until the end of
the grace period at the end of this month.
Beituni, however, said the grace
period is insufficient to sell estimated 25,000 cars to Iraq.
Since the start
of the US-led war on Iraq in March 2003, half a million cars have reportedly
entered Iraq via Jordan's Free Zone.
Xinhua News
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