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Saudi Sets Requirements for Establishment of Duty-Free Markets in Customs Ports

Saudi Arabia defines customs rules, conditions and procedures for establishing duty-free markets (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia defines customs rules, conditions and procedures for establishing duty-free markets (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Sets Requirements for Establishment of Duty-Free Markets in Customs Ports

Saudi Arabia defines customs rules, conditions and procedures for establishing duty-free markets (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia defines customs rules, conditions and procedures for establishing duty-free markets (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) set the customs measures and requirements for the establishment of duty-free markets, when necessary, at air, sea and land ports, pursuant to the GCC Unified Customs Law.

In a statement, ZATCA said these requirements are linked to the operation and licensing of duty-free markets.

These rules and requirements followed the Cabinet’s decision, which will contribute to supporting supply chains and improving the logistics services provided for duty-free markets. It will do so by providing a wide range of goods and products for shopping while traveling.

Moreover, duty-free markets will allow additional selling channels for local companies. This will support and contribute to the promotion of national products by displaying them in the sales halls.

According to ZATCA, duty-free markets are currently found in the departure terminals of several airports, such as King Abdulaziz International Airport, King Fahd International Airport, and Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah.

The authority added that it seeks to expand the presence of duty-free markets as needed in the air, sea, and land ports. It said it would do so in coordination with the legal authorities in customs ports.

Duty-free markets are defined as retail outlets that allow travelers to purchase goods and products that are permitted to be traded in the Kingdom, which are subject to exemption from customs duties or taxes, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant regulations, as stipulated in Article 78 of the Unified Customs Law and Paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Duty-free Markets Rules System.

On the other hand, ZATCA added that tax exemptions differ from one country to another, based on the location of the duty-free market (arrival or departure terminals).

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German Auto Exports Hit Hard by Trump Tariffs, Study Shows 

US President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled "Make America Wealthy Again" at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled "Make America Wealthy Again" at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025. (AFP)
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German Auto Exports Hit Hard by Trump Tariffs, Study Shows 

US President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled "Make America Wealthy Again" at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled "Make America Wealthy Again" at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025. (AFP)

German car exports to the United States slumped by almost 14% in the first three quarters of 2025, making it the hardest-hit branch of German industry in US President Donald Trump's trade war, according to a study seen by Reuters on Monday.

Under an agreement between Washington and Brussels, the US set a 15% baseline tariff on cars from Europe from August 1 - significantly less ‌than Trump's ‌initial rate of 25% ‌on ⁠top of ‌a 2.5% existing levy.

German engineering companies have also struggled under the tariff regime, with the study showing exports in that sector to the US declining by 9.5% in the first nine months of 2025.

Machinery exports are subject to a ⁠50% US tariff on steel and aluminium products.

The chemical industry ‌also saw exports to the ‍country's top export market ‍decline by 9.5%, although the report said ‍this could not be blamed solely on tariffs.

"Other factors are likely to have played a role in the case of chemical products, such as lower production in Germany due to higher energy prices," it said.

Across all sectors, German ⁠exports to the US were down 7.8% year on year over the three quarters - following average growth of nearly 5% in the comparable periods of 2016 to 2024.

"Since it must currently be assumed that US import tariffs will not return to pre-Trump administration levels in the foreseeable future, a significant recovery in German exports to the US is unlikely," study author Samina ‌Sultan said, referring to a "new normal" for German exporters.

Business

Greece Headed for ‘Record Year’ for Tourism, Says Minister

Tourists descent Propylaia, the ancient gate of the Acropolis archaeological site in Athens on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
Tourists descent Propylaia, the ancient gate of the Acropolis archaeological site in Athens on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
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Greece Headed for ‘Record Year’ for Tourism, Says Minister

Tourists descent Propylaia, the ancient gate of the Acropolis archaeological site in Athens on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
Tourists descent Propylaia, the ancient gate of the Acropolis archaeological site in Athens on June 21, 2023. (AFP)

Greece is on track for "another record year" for tourism in 2025, despite ongoing labor shortages in a key sector of its economy, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said on Sunday.

Between January and the end of September, the Mediterranean nation -- long beloved by tourists for its sunny islands and rich archaeological sites -- welcomed 31.6 million visitors, a four-percent increase compared with the same period in 2024, according to Bank of Greece data published in late November.

"Overall, we expect 2025 to be another record year for tourism in our country," Kefalogianni said in an interview with the Greek news agency ANA.

The conservative minister also expressed hope for another bumper year in 2026.

"The indicators for 2026 are already particularly encouraging and allow us to be optimistic," she said.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Greece has been breaking annual records in tourism revenues and the number of foreign visitors.

Across 2024, 40.7 million people visited Greece, up 12.8 percent from 2023.

But the uptick has sparked concern over the unchecked construction in several hotspots, while Athens locals have complained that the proliferation of short-term holiday lets has caused rents to skyrocket.

Climate change-fueled heatwaves and increasingly devastating wildfires also pose a threat to the sector, which Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has trumpeted since taking office in 2019 in a bid to revive the economy after the financial crisis.

According to the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE), tourism directly contributed around 13 percent of GDP in 2024 and indirectly to more than 30 percent of GDP.

Business

Iraq Says International Firms in Kurdistan Obliged to Transfer Crude Under Deal

A handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office on January 2, 2025, shows a partial view of the oil refinery of Baiji north of Baghdad, during the inauguration ceremony of the fourth and fifth units. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office / AFP)
A handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office on January 2, 2025, shows a partial view of the oil refinery of Baiji north of Baghdad, during the inauguration ceremony of the fourth and fifth units. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office / AFP)
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Iraq Says International Firms in Kurdistan Obliged to Transfer Crude Under Deal

A handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office on January 2, 2025, shows a partial view of the oil refinery of Baiji north of Baghdad, during the inauguration ceremony of the fourth and fifth units. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office / AFP)
A handout picture released by Iraq's Prime Minister's Media Office on January 2, 2025, shows a partial view of the oil refinery of Baiji north of Baghdad, during the inauguration ceremony of the fourth and fifth units. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office / AFP)

Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO said on Sunday international producers in Kurdistan were still obliged to send it their crude under a September export agreement, after Norway's DNO said it would not take part in the agreement. 

SOMO said its statement was in response to a Reuters report in ‌September which ‌quoted DNO as ‌saying ⁠it would ‌sell directly to the Kurdish region and had no immediate plans to ship through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline. 

The September deal between Iraq's oil ministry, Kurdistan's ministry of natural resources and producing companies stipulated that SOMO ⁠will export crude from Kurdish oil fields through ‌the Türkiye pipeline. 

At the ‍time, DNO - the ‍largest international oil producer active in ‍Kurdistan - welcomed the deal but did not sign it, saying it wanted more clarity on how outstanding debts would be paid. 

It said it would continue to sell directly to the semi-autonomous region of ⁠Kurdistan. 

SOMO said on Sunday the Kurdistan ministry of natural resources had reaffirmed its commitment to the deal "under which all international companies engaged in extraction and production in the region's fields are required to deliver the quantities of crude oil they produce in the region to SOMO, except for the quantities allocated ‌for local consumption in the region."