Qatar has banned goods from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, nearly a year after the four countries cut ties with Qatar, media reports said.
"Products originating from the blockading states, which as a result of the blockade cannot pass the Gulf Cooperation Council Customs Territory, have to undergo proper import inspections and customs procedures," Reuters cited a Qatari government statement released May 26.
"To protect the safety of consumers in the State of Qatar and to combat improper trafficking of goods, the government issued a directive to find new suppliers of the variety of goods impacted," the statement added. Shops were ordered to clear shelves of all products imported from the four countries and inspectors will check for compliance, Bloomberg News said.
A Qatari government spokesman was not immediately able to provide the value of goods that will be affected by the ban, and whether the country will also forbid all products trans-shipped through the four Arab nations, Reuters said.
The four countries imposed diplomatic and trade embargoes on Qatar on June 5, 2017, alleging that the country supports terrorist groups. Imports into Qatar fell about 40% in the initial weeks of the boycott, but have since bounced back to almost normal after the country developed new shipping routes through Kuwait and Oman and bought products from Iran and Turkey.
Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa was quoted by Reuters as saying to Alsharq Alawsat on May 27 that a resolution to the diplomatic row was nowhere in sight.
