New Iraqi customs rules snarl Duhok trade route

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - New Iraqi customs rules at Kurdistan Region’s border with Turkey have disrupted the movement of goods and thrown thousands out of work in Duhok, a key hub for distributing goods to other provinces, according to officials.

Roughly 20,000 workers have lost their jobs since mid-April, according to the Duhok branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Syndicate on Friday. “Ninety percent of commercial activity in the province has halted,” the union said.

Under the new rules, only trucks equipped with QR-coded customs seals are allowed to enter federal Iraqi territory, and the shipments must remain sealed and be delivered within 72 hours.

“Cargo and goods imported through Ibrahim Khalil [border gate] must have customs seals. These seals must not be opened until the cargo reaches the dam checkpoint between Duhok and Mosul, where the seal will be opened,” Maysam Bolani, head of advisors for the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce, told Rudaw on April 22.

The policy follows a March 11 directive from the Central Bank of Iraq and applies to shipments from both Turkey and Iran via Kurdistan Region’s border crossings, according to Bolani.

Transit permits for trucks carrying goods from the Kurdistan Region to other parts of Iraq expired on April 15. The new custom codes are expected to be available online starting next week.

Salahuddin Ahmed, an advisor to the Erbil Chamber of Commerce and Industry, criticized the new rules, telling Rudaw that they violate Article 24 of the constitution, which guarantees the free movement of goods and capital between the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq.

“We discussed this issue at the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce and Industry,” he said. “There are no such restrictions between other Iraqi cities. This policy contradicts how commercial distribution works.”

The decision has emptied many warehouses in the Kurdistan Region, according to Mustafa Sheikh Abdulrahman, head of the Kurdistan Importers and Exporters Union. “Merchants are now renting space in Iraq’s central provinces and sending goods directly there. This has severely damaged Kurdistan’s economy and its business community,” he said.

An Erbil Chamber of Commerce official told Rudaw that the restrictions apply not only to imported goods but also to locally produced items, further compounding the impact.