the Turkish border has caused widespread discontent, raising fears of rising prices and recession in a country suffering from an economic crisis brought on by years of war.
Syria’s border crossings with Turkey will go up by between 300 and 500 percent starting on Saturday, according to Syrian businessmen working in the import-export trade who spoke to The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
toppled longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad last December.
The businessmen described the increase in customs duties as “irrational and surprising”.
There are fears that they will have a significant and negative impact on the economy of northern Syria, which is already suffering greatly from the effects of war, with much of its population living in refugee camps.
Over 90 percent of Syria’s population live in poverty.
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “Raising customs duties has many disadvantages, particularly in the Syrian situation. The duties will increase the cost of raising some products and this in turn will raise prices for consumers on the free market. Traders avoid paying any extra costs from their profits and capital.”
He added that the customs duties would cause a recession in local markets at a time when Syrians lacked purchasing power. While he acknowledged that local producers could potentially benefit, he said these benefits would be offset by additional costs for them.
“These governmental decisions are hasty at the current time, and it is better to give concessions rather than impose restrictions,” he said.
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Sunday that the interim authorities may remove the new customs duties due to rising prices in northern Syria and public anger.
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