UK's no bond plea
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BRITAIN is pressing Iraq to withdraw its demand for a $150,000 bond for all vehicles entering the country which was due to come into effect on Monday.
The British embassy in Baghdad has been asked by the Department of Trade to make representations to get the demand lifted but so far there has been no reaction from the Iraqis.
A spokesman told CM that Britain's diplomatic relations with the country are tenuous and any request was not very likely to succeed.
Already the Road Haulage Association has written to the International Road Transport Union in Geneva in an effort to avoid the bond.
A spokesman for the RHA added that this will make an impossible situation for small hauliers who have not the money available to lodge with the Iraqis.
A Department of Trade spokesman said that the new bond demand is in addition to an entry tax of £30 for rigid vehicles and £60 for articu lated vehicles and road trains which applies whether the vehicle is transiting the country or delivering there.
The RHA's senior executive officer Bob Duffy has written to the Department of Trade telling it that such a bond will restrict trade and make it impossible for small hauliers to continue trading with Iraq.