Commercial Agency in Iraq: Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraqi PM, May Revive Commercial Agency Business in Iraq.

                                                                                        By Zardasht Khalid Mohammed

Commercial agency activities are considered an important marketing contract that allows foreign traders to introduce their products or services into Iraqi territories. Before the Law No.79 of 2017 Regulations Of Commercial Agency, the foreign traders were allowed to introduce the product and services into Iraq territories even without agency contracts. From the enactment of LAW No.79 of 2017, the foreign traders are no longer would be able to import goods or services to Iraq without agency contracts in which assigned to Iraqi agents to bring services and goods into Iraqi territories. As de jure, the underline policy behind  the (Law No.79 of 2017) aims to protect Iraqi consumers from foreign traders from defects and default in their goods and services by implicating the lability of the Iraqi agent vis-à-vis Iraqi consumers. As de facto, however, paramilitary and militia groups have controlled customs and land port that somehow had reduced commercial agency activities and undermined the provisions of commercial agency.  

In this context, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, newly appointed prime ministers, vows to control the international land-port of Iraq with the surrounding-neighboring countries from the paramilitary and militia group that controlled international land-port border and customs. The duties and customs were gone to the personal accounts of the leaders of these militia groups. Thus, controlling customs by militia groups created many obstacles to the legit commercial agents or to foreign traders to brings goods and services into Iraq.  Also, many times, even the Iraqi commercial agent or foreign traders have gained all required permissions still not allowed to introduce his or her product into Iraq.

Moreover, Militia groups allowed the goods and services to be entered into Iraqi territories without a legitimate commercial agent or through “fake-agent” that undermined the underline policy of Law (No.79 of 2017) in protecting Iraqi consumers. Also, these acts had breached the rights of many authorized Iraqi agents with exclusivity right to enter specific products by unauthorized agents through bribery of these militia groups. Sometimes, the foreign traders had bribed these militia groups to undermine the right of their own agents. 

Mustafa al-Kadhimi has utilized the “Iraqi Counter Terror Force” in controlling international land ports of Iraq. If this controlling process continues as Mustafa al-Kadhimi promised in all other ports of Iraqi. Soon, we will see boosting commercial agency activities. Thus, it surges commercial agency business to peck. It allows more revenue streaming into the Iraqi market. Hence, it creates more jobs for Iraqi agents, lawyers, and wholesale retailers. also, it would increase taxes and duties in all levels of commercial agency registration process up to entering the foreign products into the Iraqi markets.  

Copyright 2020 by Zardasht Kahlid Mohammed

Photo courtesy of France Press.