Iraq traders protest new customs tariffs

Hundreds of traders and customs clearance company owners protested in central Baghdad on Sunday, demanding that Iraq's government reverse recently imposed customs tariffs that they say have sharply increased their costs and disrupted trade. The new tariffs that came into effect on Jan. 1 were imposed as part of an attempt to decrease the country's debt and its reliance on oil revenues, as oil prices have dropped.  Iraq faces a debt of more than 90 trillion Iraqi dinars ($69 billion) — and a state budget that remains reliant on oil for about 90 per cent of revenues, despite attempts to diversify.

 But traders say the new tariffs - in some cases as high as 30 per cent - have placed an unfair burden on them. Opponents have filed a lawsuit aiming to reduce the decision, which Iraq's Federal Supreme Court is set to rule. The demonstrators gathered outside the General Customs Directorate on Sunday, chanting slogans against corruption and rejecting the new fees.