BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 5
Trend:
The head of Economic Commission of the Iran Parliament announced the negative trade balance of the free zones.
"The total trade share of free zones is about 2 percent of the total trade of the country, which means a need to fundamental review in this area," Mohammad Reza Poorabrahimi, the head of the Economic Commission of the Parliament said today on Tuesday, Trend reports citing Mehr News Agency.
"The Free Zones Management Amendment Bill was recently submitted and approved by the economic commission of the parliament," he said. "The bill is currently being considered by the Economic Commission's Trade Committee, and representatives are examining the details of the plan."
He went on to say that according to the reports from 2014 to 2019, the average annual trade balance of the free zones is minus $1 billion."This means that if we import an average of about $2 billion a year, our total exports would not be more than $1 billion."
Poorabrahimi said that the capabilities of the free zones should be strengthened.
"Sanctions are also an issue affecting the free zones," he said. "But we expected the free zones to be able to help the country in during the sanctions."