Rahim Forouzandeh Bakhshayesh, the director of international transportation and TIR carnet department of Iran Chamber of Commerce, has said the department is in talks with Turkish officials to help solve the recent problems caused by Turkey for Iranian truckers at the joint border.
He said that the Iran Chamber of Commerce has been pursuing the case since the very beginning of the problem.
Bakhshayesh noted that he visited the Bazargan joint border with Turkey at the head of a delegation last week upon a request by the president of Iran Chamber of Commerce.
He added that the Iran Chamber of Commerce aims to provide support for the private sector operators and prevent increased costs on truck drivers.
More than a thousand Iranian trucks were stranded at the border with Turkey last week when the country announced that it had revoked fuel tax exemptions for Iranian vehicles. That has sparked an outcry among truck drivers who say they cannot afford to pay a fuel tax equivalent to 155% of Turkey’s special consumption tax
Turkish authorities have reacted by saying that the new measure is a response to Iran’s fuel surcharge payment for foreign trucks.
That comes as subsidized fuel in Iran is almost 20-fold cheaper than Turkey and other countries in the region.