TEHRAN, Iran, Sep. 15
Trend:
The Act banning the import of home appliances will be expired by the end of the current Iranian year (ends on March 21, 2022), so that the government has to extend it, the deputy head of Iran`s Home Appliance Traders Union said, Trend reports citing ILNA.
“The ban on import of home appliances cannot be lifelong and permanent,” Mohammad Hossein Eslamian said.
He noted that the import must be banned for the products which the country's home appliances production can meet the domestic demands.
“The import ban must be lifted for the items which we do not have production,” Eslamian indicated.
He added that another way is to import parts and technology instead of the end-user products.
“This will benefit our home appliance industry in the long run.”
Eslamian went on to address the smuggling of washing machines despite the domestic production of this item.
He suggested the liberalization of the import of home appliances in order to not only prevent smuggling but also to increase the level of competition for Iranian products.
Over the past few years, the Iranian government has been following the home appliances’ import ban strategy for supporting domestic production to neutralize the impacts of the U.S. sanctions while reducing the reliance of the economy on oil revenues.
Tens of thousands of Iranians working at home appliance manufacturing companies signed a petition recently calling on the government to ban imports of foreign goods.