Saudi Arabia to effect 'reciprocal' charge on goods from July 1

Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia is getting tough on those countries that have imposed stricter requirements on imports from the kingdom.

From July 1, Saudi Arabia will enforce “reciprocal treatment” on goods exported by these countries to the Gulf state.

The kingdom is taking this step to “as the actions taken by other countries are not compatible with their commitments to relevant international agreements,” the Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade said in a statement.

“Such measures and procedures do not provide fair competitiveness of cross-trade with those countries. Not only that, they have negative repercussions on the ability of the competitiveness of the private sector of the Kingdom to enter those markets.”

Applying reciprocal measures will reduce the impact of a negative balance of trade with those countries, and “enable the flow of the Kingdom’s exports to foreign markets”, the statement added.