A warning from Turkish officials that steep customs duties on basic goods could drive up inflation preceded a move by Syrian counterparts to slash tariffs on 269 export products that flow across the border from Turkey, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat was reported as saying on January 28.

In an interview with Turkish state newswire Anadolu Agency, Bolat also told how exports from Turkey to Syria were notably up since the toppling of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December, triggered by an offensive launched by militia groups supported by Ankara.

“From January 1 to January 25, 2024, our exports to northern Syria amounted to $161 million. This year, during the same period, exports increased by 35.5%, reaching $219 million,” he said.

The multi-sided Syrian war that ignited as far back as 2011 meant serious disruption for Turkish traders that were reliant on trade routes running into Syria or through Syria to other Middle East countries and Gulf countries.

Bolat added: “The new administration [in Damascus] is working closely with Türkiye. In this new era, there will be significant progress in economic, trade, investment and reconstruction efforts between Türkiye and Syria.”

Turkish contractors are hoping for billions of dollars of contracts in the post-conflict rebuilding of Syria.

The Syrian about-turn on tariffs will invite more suspicion from some analysts that Turkey's influence over the new government that is taking shape in Damascus is huge. There are those, Donald Trump among them, who see the momentous events in Syria as having been managed by groups who are "Turkey's people", including main player jihadist outfit Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS).

During the war, said Bolat, Syria did not impose substantial customs duties on essential import-goods like food and construction materials given urgent needs. However, the new administration, with an eye on raising revenue for the public purse, adjusted 6,302 tariff lines on January 11 and announced a unified customs regime to apply across its borders, including those with Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

It was in response to these changes that Turkish officials pursued discussions with their Syrian counterparts and secured the pledge that tariffs on 269 essential products—including flour, eggs, milk, plastic goods and steel—would be cut.

Turkey and Syria signed a free trade agreement (FTA) four years before the outbreak of the war. However, it was suspended by both sides amid the conflict.

“We proposed reviving it in its broadest form, convening to address product-specific issues. The Syrians expressed positive views, signalling mutual agreement,” said Bolat.