Bahrain decided on Wednesday, December 12 to cut customs tariffs on a number of imports from January, as part of moves toward a Gulf customs union, the official BNA news agency reported. The government set a five percent rate for several goods, down from 7.5, and slashed car duties from 15 percent to a new rate of five percent, said the cabinet affairs minister, Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al-Mutawa, quoted by BNA.
Food products have already been exempted from tariffs since last year. The latest decision was taken as part of efforts to have a customs union in place between the six Gulf Arab monarchies from January 2003. The partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have agreed to classify imports in three categories: tariff exempted goods, basic products at 5.5 percent, and luxury items at 7.5 percent.
The GCC groups Bahrain with Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. — (AFP, Manama)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
