Latest news with #Baghdad-controlled
Rudaw Net
08-05-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Thousands of trucks stuck at Mosul Dam checkpoint amid processing delays
Also in Iraq Iraq kicks off compensation program for Yazidi survivors of ISIS Iraqi army blocks Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk's Sargaran Baghdad, Erbil reach agreement to revive stalled trade Dust storm hospitalizes over 200 in Kirkuk A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Rows of trucks stretching nearly 10 kilometers have formed at the Mosul Dam checkpoint, where thousands of vehicles have been left idling for hours - some for nearly a full day - due to severe processing delays. Haval Qasim, a member of Duhok's Chamber of Commerce, told Rudaw that 'approximately 4,000 to 5,000 trucks are waiting in line. Inspections are being conducted on their manifests, entry date, and they have to go through the scanner. The number of staff is limited; this is why there are delays.' On Tuesday, Erbil and Baghdad agreed to extend deadlines for cargo transfers and warehouse storage. The deal further permitted goods stored since April 15 to be delivered to Baghdad-controlled areas, provided trucks carry customs seals. However, despite the agreement, thousands of trucks remain stalled due to ongoing staffing shortages and slow inspection procedures. Exhausted drivers say they've barely moved. 'They said the road was open, but we haven't moved more than 100 meters all day,' said trucker Aziz Ahmed. 'Some trucks entered last night, and it still took them 12 hours just to reach the Peshmerga checkpoint at the dam.' Duhok officials have appealed to authorities in Nineveh and Baghdad, but no tangible progress has been made. The crisis stems in part from a March 11 directive by the Iraqi government requiring merchants to attach QR codes to cargo and deliver goods to central and southern Iraq within 72 hours - a policy now contributing to growing logistical gridlock.
Rudaw Net
06-05-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Baghdad, Erbil reach agreement to revive stalled trade
A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government have agreed to extend deadlines for cargo transfers and warehouse storage, a top border official told Rudaw on Tuesday. The move aims to ease weeks of disrupted trade between the Kurdistan Region and federal Iraq. 'In a meeting between the technical teams of the border crossings from both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Baghdad government, an agreement was reached on four points that will open the door for the export of goods,' Omar al-Waeli, head of Iraq's Border Crossing Authority, said. The agreement extends the time limit for transporting goods from the Kurdistan Region to federal checkpoints from 72 hours to one week. It also doubles the permitted storage time in warehouses from 60 to 120 days. Additionally, goods stored since April 15 are now authorized for delivery to Baghdad-controlled areas, and all trucks must be equipped with customs seals. The deal comes after Baghdad implemented new trade regulations in April requiring that only trucks with QR-coded customs seals may enter federal Iraq, according to Maysam Bolani, head advisor to the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce. Bolani then told Rudaw that under these rules, shipments must remain sealed and be delivered within 72 hours between the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province and the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Of note, a customs seal is a stamp affixed to goods imported through the Kurdistan Region's border crossings with Turkey and Iran, which must remain unbroken until the cargo reaches federal checkpoints. Baghdad's regulations followed a March 11 directive issued by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and applied to all shipments entering from Turkey and Iran via the Kurdistan Region's borders. Transit permits for trucks transporting goods from the Kurdistan Region to federal provinces expired in mid-April, leading to warehouse shortages and increased concern among traders. Around that time, Mustafa Sheikh Abdulrahman, head of the Kurdistan Importers and Exporters Union, told Rudaw that the new restrictions had led to the depletion of many storage facilities in the Region. Notably, a prominent Turkmen politician representing Kirkuk in the Iraqi parliament, Arshad al-Salihi, warned on Saturday that new federal trade restrictions on shipments from the Kurdistan Region could lead to empty markets in Kirkuk and Mosul. In a video message posted on his Facebook page, Salihi stated, 'Traders across Iraq in general and traders of Kirkuk and Mosul in part, are caught in the crosshairs of the dispute between the [Kurdistan] Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government [of Iraq].' 'Please sideline the ordinary citizen from your conflicts as they are the ones who lose the most,' Salihi stated addressing Erbil and Baghdad, stressing, 'Enough disputes!'
