DOHA, May 28, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – Qatar said it would ban products originating from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, almost a year after the four countries imposed an embargo on Doha.
“Products originating from the blockading states, which as a result of the blockade cannot pass the Gulf Cooperation Council Customs Territory, have to undergo proper import inspections and customs procedures,” a government statement said late Saturday.
“To protect the safety of consumers in the State of Qatar and to combat improper trafficking of goods, the government issued a directive to find new suppliers of the variety of goods impacted,” said the statement.
“Qatar conducts its trade policy in accordance with all of its multilateral and bilateral agreements,” it added.
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic ties as well as all air, sea and land links with Qatar, accusing the gas-rich Gulf state of supporting terrorism and aligning with Iran against Arab interests. Doha has repeatedly denied the allegations, calling such isolation “diplomatically unjustified.”
Imports into Qatar plunged about 40 percent from 2016 in the initial weeks of the embargo, but they have since mostly returned to normal as Doha has found new sources of products in countries such as Turkey, and developed new shipping routes through places such as Oman, according to a Reuters report.