“Jordan at the forefront”… Al-Waeli: Manipulating the origin of imported goods is killing the Iraqi economy
“Jordan at the forefront”… Al-Waeli: Manipulating the origin of imported goods is killing the Iraqi economy
11-3-2026
Information/Special…
MP Taqi Nasser Al-Waeli, from the “Ishraqat Kanoun” bloc, affirmed on Tuesday that the responsibility for protecting domestic products lies with regulatory bodies to safeguard them from imported goods. He noted that some products enter the country under the guise of being manufactured there, while others falsely claim they are made in Iraq when they are actually imported. He pointed out that there is a lack of accountability, sluggishness, and a general absence of responsibility, which has turned Iraq into a market for imported and counterfeit goods.
Speaking to Al-Maalouma, Al-Waeli said, “There are individuals who import goods and label them ‘Made in Iraq’ to evade customs and taxes, hiding behind the guise of protecting domestic products.” He stressed “the necessity of activating regulatory departments to protect local products, even though there is a lack of accountability and sluggishness in this regard.”
He added that “all these issues have negatively impacted domestic products, which already suffer from the chaos of imports in Iraq, particularly from some countries, such as Jordan, from which goods are imported without imposing taxes or customs duties.”
Al-Waeli explained that “activating oversight bodies is paramount now, especially since the government is raising the slogan of protecting and promoting national products, but what we see on the ground today is sluggishness, complacency, and weakness.”
He pointed out that “importing goods, labeling them as national products, is tantamount to killing local production, which will suffer from manipulation and fraud.”
The Iraqi Council of Ministers approved a decision to exempt all imported food and medicine from customs duties retroactively from October 7, 2026. This exemption includes imports from Jordan.
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