Parliamentary calls to oblige the Iraqi government to cancel the privileges granted to Jordan

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[size=52]Parliamentary calls to oblige the Iraqi government to cancel the privileges granted to Jordan[/size]

[size=45]A number of members of the Iraqi parliament have called for a proposal or resolution to be submitted obligating the government to cancel the privileges granted to Jordan within the framework of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.[/size]
[size=45]These calls come amid increasing demands to review the trade and economic agreements concluded between Iraq and Jordan, as some representatives believe that these privileges may not be in Iraq’s interest as required.[/size]
[size=45]Member of the State Support Bloc, MP Mohammed Al-Ziyadi, called on members of the House of Representatives to submit a draft law or decision obligating the government to cancel the privileges granted to Jordan.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Ziyadi said, “The privileges granted by Iraq over decades to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan do not align with the Kingdom’s positions on the fateful issues of the Arabs, foremost among which is the Palestinian issue and its drift towards normalization with the Israeli entity.”
He added, “The criticisms directed from various circles to review the privileges granted to Jordan must be translated into reality.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Zaydi called on members of the House of Representatives to “submit a draft law or resolution obligating the government to cancel the privileges granted to Jordan.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, independent MP Hadi Al-Salami confirmed that “Acting Speaker of the House of Representatives Mohsen Al-Mandalawi approved our request to submit a draft law to cancel the privileges granted by Iraq to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and directed that the draft law be included on the agenda of the next session.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "Iraq has been providing support to Jordan throughout the previous period, including providing them with fuel at $16 per barrel below the market price, in addition to other facilities provided at border crossings, such as exempting Jordanian goods from taxes."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the House of Representatives is determined to cancel all these privileges and benefit from the differences in oil prices and taxes to enhance the financial revenues of the Iraqi state."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "this request comes because of Jordan's positions on the war on Gaza and Lebanon."[/size]
[size=45]In addition, the head of the parliamentary rights bloc, Saud Al-Saadi, directed a number of parliamentary questions to the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Oil and Finance regarding the preferential treatment in the prices of oil exported to Jordan, as well as the customs exemptions granted by Iraq to goods coming from Jordan.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Saadi questioned in a statement the “constitutionality of this governmental procedure, whereby Iraq grants Jordan a preferential price for one barrel of oil in the amount of $16, for a total of 15 barrels per day, which intentionally harms Iraqi money.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "We also wonder about the reasons for not obtaining the approval of the Iraqi Council of Representatives regarding the above issue in order to organize it in the form of an agreement to guarantee Iraqi interests, and not in the form of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries carried out by the government."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Saadi called on the Minister of Oil to state the total quantity of discounted Iraqi oil exported to Jordan from 2018 until now, the party responsible for determining the prices of oil exported to this country, and the Iraqi oil fields from which the discounted oil that goes to Jordan is extracted.[/size]
[size=45]He asked the government to “state the economic feasibility that Iraq and its people will obtain from such memoranda of understanding?”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Saadi directed a question to the executive authority about “the legal basis for exempting Jordan from customs duties on its goods entering Iraq?”, calling on the Ministry of Finance to “state the total amount of tax exemptions granted to Jordan from 2018 until now.”[/size]
[size=45]He stressed that the Ministry of Finance should mention the goods and commodities imported by Iraq that are included in the tax exemption according to Iraqi laws, “and does Jordan deal with Iraq in the same manner of tax exemptions for goods entering it?”[/size]
[size=45]He continued, "Are there memoranda of understanding signed between the two countries regarding tax exemption after 2003 or not, and are there legal consequences that will befall Iraq if it cancels the memoranda of understanding regarding preferential oil prices granted to Jordan, as well as exemption from customs duties on goods and commodities imported from it?"[/size]
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