Qatar has ordered shops to remove goods originating from a group of Saudi Arabian-led countries which a year ago imposed a wide-ranging boycott on the emirate, Doha officials said Saturday. A directive from the economy ministry ordered shops to immediately strip shelves of products from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

Inspectors will visit stores to ensure they comply with the order, the ministry said.

The government will also try and stop products such as Saudi dairy goods from entering Qatar via a third country.

Qatar’s Government Communications Office (GCO) said it was trying to “protect the safety of consumers”.

“Products originating from blockading states, which as a result of the blockade cannot pass the GCC customs territory, has to undergo proper import inspections and customs procedures,” the GCO said in a statement.

“Qatar conducts its trade policy in accordance with all of its multilateral and bilateral agreements.”

The order comes just days before the anniversary of a bitter Gulf crisis.

Since June 5 last year, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have cut all relations with Qatar, accusing it of financing terrorist groups and having close ties with Iran.

The countries subsequently imposed a trade and diplomatic boycott on Qatar, which rejects the charges and says the countries are seeking regime change in Doha.

The row has forced isolated Qatar, which previously relied on its Gulf neighbours, to look elsewhere for food imports, including Turkey, Morocco and Iran.

Many such imports enter the country via ports such as Kuwait and Oman.

It is through these ports, and also via individuals, that goods from the boycotting countries manage to get in to Qatar, said a source with knowledge of the situation.

“Businessmen from the blockading countries are trying to go around the blockade… by using third parties,” said the source. </s> DUBAI Qatar said it was banning products from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, almost a year after the four states imposed an embargo on Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Qatar, which had many of its imports trans-shipped from the UAE and received the bulk of its fresh food across the Saudi border, denied the accusation.

On the product ban, a government statement said on Saturday: "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.

"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 national Al Watan newspaper quoted a circular from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce telling traders and shops to stop dealing in products from the four countries. It said inspectors would monitor compliance with the policy.

The four states cut diplomatic and transport ties last June.

A spokesman for Qatar's government did not respond to e-mailed questions on the volume of goods that would be affected by the new ban.

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid Ahmed al-Khalifa told Alsharq Alawsat newspaper he saw no resolution to the diplomatic row in sight. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar said it was banning products originating from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, almost a year after those states imposed an embargo on Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

FILE PHOTO: A woman shops in a supermarket in Doha, Qatar June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

“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,” a government statement said late on Saturday.

“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 national Al Watan newspaper quoted a circular from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce telling traders and shops to stop dealing in products imported from the four countries. It said inspectors would monitor compliance with the policy.

The four states cut diplomatic and transport ties last June. Qatar, which had many of its imports trans-shipped from the UAE and received the bulk of its fresh food across the Saudi border, denied the accusations against it.

Imports into Qatar plunged about 40 percent from a year earlier in the initial weeks of the boycott, but they have since mostly returned to normal as Doha has found new sources of products in countries such as Turkey, and developed new shipping routes through places such as Oman. Qatar has also launched a drive to produce more things locally, including foods.

Since last June, some foods and other products from the embargo states have continued to find their way into Qatar through third countries.

A spokesman for Qatar’s government declined to give details but said any imports coming to the country must go through proper import inspections.

He was not immediately able to give the value of the goods affected by the new measures, and whether the ban would cover all products trans-shipped through the embargo states in addition to goods produced there.

Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa told Alsharq Alawsat newspaper on Sunday he saw no resolution to the diplomatic row in sight. </s> Qatar on Saturday asked its shops to remove goods from four countries that severed diplomatic relations with them last June, AFP reported. Inspectors will visit stores to ensure compliance with the order, the economy ministry said.

The Government Communications Office said it was trying to “protect the safety of consumers” by banning products from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – the first four countries to cut ties with Qatar on June 5, 2017. They had accused Doha of financing terrorist groups, charges that Qatar denies. Some other Arab nations joined in the boycott soon after.

The standoff had forced Qatar to shift import routes to Kuwait and Oman, and buy goods from Iran and Turkey, according to Bloomberg.

The government’s directive on Saturday is meant to “find new suppliers of the variety of goods impacted” by the blockade, a statement said. The government will try and stop products such as Saudi dairy goods from entering Qatar through a third country. </s> QATAR said it was banning products originating from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, almost a year after those states imposed an embargo on Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

"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," a government statement said late on Saturday.

"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 national Al Watan newspaper quoted a circular from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce telling traders and shops to stop dealing in products imported from the four countries. It said inspectors would monitor compliance with the policy.

The four states cut diplomatic and transport ties last June. Qatar, which had many of its imports transshipped from the UAE and received the bulk of its fresh food across the Saudi border, denied the accusations against it.

Imports into Qatar plunged about 40 per cent from a year earlier in the initial weeks of the boycott, but they have since mostly returned to normal as Doha has found new sources of products in countries such as Turkey, and developed new shipping routes through places such as Oman. Qatar has also launched a drive to produce more things locally, including foods.

Since last June, some foods and other products from the embargo states have continued to find their way into Qatar through third countries.

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa told Alsharq Alawsat newspaper on Sunday he saw no resolution to the diplomatic row in sight. REUTERS </s> Qatar directed shopkeepers to clear their stores of contraband goods from Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries, the latest salvo in the economic battle among former Middle East allies that shows no signs of easing.

The directive on Saturday came as the June 5 anniversary approaches of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates severing diplomatic and business ties with Qatar, accusing the tiny but wealthy emirate of promoting extremism in the region and cozying up to Iran. Denying the charges, Qatar... </s> Almost a year after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar, the gas-rich country decided to stop consuming goods from its rivals. Qatar’s economy ministry ordered shops to strip shelves of products imported from the four countries, according to a circular sent on Saturday. Inspectors will visit stores to insure compliance with the ban. A spokesman for the economy ministry didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Bahrain and Egypt cut economic and diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing the country of financing terrorist groups and having close ties with Iran, charges Qatar rejects. The rift forced Qatar to shift import routes to Kuwait and Oman, and buy goods from Iran and Turkey. Qatar, which has one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, absorbed the shock of the embargo. The economy expanded faster than most of its neighbors last year and is expected to outperform this year, according to International Monetary Fund data.

After shoring up ties in Western capitals and spending billions on weapons, Qatar plans to retool its economy to attract foreign investment and build a financial hub for companies in Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Pakistan. </s> Baku. 5 June. REPORT.AZ/ Residents of Qatar are hastily buying food and drinking water amid the rupture of diplomatic relations with number of countries. Report informsnews portal Youm7 writes."Residents rushed to all nearby grocery stores and supermarkets, buy up milk, water, rice, eggs.

Products are taken from stores by cars, the shelve are immediately emptied after the news about the closure of the borders with Saudi Arabia, through which a large flow of food was going, "eyewitnesses reported.According to them, "nothing like this has ever been seen."

According to the Al Jazeera TV channel, in the area of the Saudi-Qatar border, heavy trucks are accumulated that can not enter the territory of Qatar.

Notably, today, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and moved to close off access to the Gulf country over what they say is the country's support of terrorism.After them, Yemen, Libya and the Maldives also announced the break of diplomatic relations with Qatar. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - The Arab world’s biggest powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of support for Islamist militants and Iran, and reopening a festering wound two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for Muslim states to fight terrorism.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in a coordinated move. Yemen, Libya’s eastern-based government and the Maldives joined later. Transport links shut down, triggering supply shortages.

Qatar, a small peninsular nation of 2.5 million people that has a large U.S. military base, denounced the action as predicated on lies about it supporting militants. It has often been accused of being a funding source for Islamists, as has Saudi Arabia.

Iran, long at odds with Saudi Arabia and a behind-the-scenes target of the move, blamed Trump’s visit last month to Riyadh and called for the sides to overcome their differences.

“What is happening is the preliminary result of the sword dance,” tweeted Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, referring to Trump’s joining in a traditional dance with the Saudi king at the meeting.

Closing all transport links with Qatar, the three Gulf states gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave, and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt banned Qatari planes from landing and forbade them from crossing their air space.

Qatar’s stock market index sank 7.3 percent, with some of the market’s top blue chips hardest hit, and some Egyptian banks said they were suspending dealing with Qatari banks.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia stopped exports of white sugar to Qatar, a potential hit to consumers during the holy month of Ramadan, when demand is high. Some residents in Qatar began stockpiling food and supplies, an expatriate said.

“People have stormed into the supermarket hoarding food, especially imported ones. ... It’s chaos - I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Eva Tobaji, an expatriate resident in Doha, told Reuters after returning from shopping.

Supply difficulties quickly developed. Two Middle East trade sources spoke of thousands of trucks carrying food stuck at the Saudi border, unable make the sole overland frontier crossing into Qatar.

About 80 percent of Qatar’s food requirements are sourced via bigger Gulf Arab neighbors. Trade sources pointed to the likelihood of shortages growing in Qatar until the crisis eased.

Along with Egypt, however, the UAE and Saudi Arabia could be vulnerable to retaliation, being highly dependent on Qatar for liquefied natural gas.

‘WORRISOME’

The hawkish tone on Tehran and on terrorism that Trump brought in his visit to Muslim leaders in Riyadh is seen as having laid the groundwork for the diplomatic crisis.

“You have a shift in the balance of power in the Gulf now because of the new presidency: Trump is strongly opposed to political Islam and Iran,” said Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global risk and resilience at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

“He is totally aligned with Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, who also want no compromise with either Iran or the political Islam promoted by the Muslim Brotherhood.”

The United States called for a quick resolution of the dispute, and does not want to see a “permanent rift,” a senior U.S. administration official said.

“There’s an acknowledgement that a lot of Qatari behavior is quite worrisome not just to our Gulf neighbors but to the U.S.,” the official said. “We want to bring them in the right direction.”

A State Department official said all U.S. partnerships with Gulf nations were vital and called on all parties to quickly resolve their differences.

The U.S. military said it had seen no impact to its Gulf-area operations, intended mainly as a bulwark against Iran, and added it was grateful for Qatar’s long-standing support of a U.S. presence and commitment to regional security.

The diplomatic bust-up threatens the international prestige of Qatar, which is set to host the 2022 soccer World Cup.

Soccer’s governing body, FIFA, said on Monday it was in “regular contact” with Qatar’s 2022 organizing committee, but did not comment directly on the diplomatic situation.

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

Qatar’s backing of Islamists dates to a decision by the current emir’s father to end a tradition of automatic deference to Saudi Arabia, the dominant Gulf Arab power, and forge the widest possible array of allies.

Doha subsequently cultivated not only Islamists like America’s foes Iran, Hamas and the Taliban in pursuit of leverage, but also Washington itself, hosting the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East.

Qatar has for years presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region’s many disputes. But Egypt and the Gulf Arab states resent Qatar’s support for Islamists, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, which they see as a political enemy.

Muslim Brotherhood groups allied to Doha are now mostly on retreat in the region, especially after a 2013 military takeover in Egypt ousted the elected Islamist president.

The former army chief and now president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, along with Cairo’s allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, blacklist the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The Brotherhood says it supports only peaceful politics.

Saudi Arabia accused Qatar on Monday of backing militant groups and broadcasting their ideology, an apparent reference to Qatar’s influential state-owned satellite channel al Jazeera.

Later in the day, the kingdom shut the Saudi bureau of al Jazeera. Al Jazeera says it is an independent news service giving a voice to everyone in the region.

Riyadh also accused Qatar of supporting what it described as Iranian-backed militants in the restive, largely Shi’ite Muslim-populated eastern Saudi region of Qatif, as well as in Bahrain.

Qatar denied it was interfering in the affairs of others.

“The campaign of incitement is based on lies that had reached the level of complete fabrications,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement.

Turkey also called for dialogue to settle the dispute and a government spokesman said President Tayyip Erdogan was working for a diplomatic solution to the rift.

Sudan expressed its concern over the row and offered to mediate between all sides.

FALLOUT

A split between Doha and its closest allies could have repercussions around the Middle East, where Gulf states have used their financial and political power to influence events in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

The economic fallout was already hitting home as Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Etihad Airways, Dubai’s Emirates Airline and budget carriers Flydubai and Air Arabia said they would suspend all flights to and from Doha indefinitely from Tuesday morning.

Qatar Airways said on its official website it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia. Many Gulf airports, including in Qatar, are major hubs for international connecting flights.

The measures are more severe than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, again alleging Qatari support for militant groups. At that time, travel links were maintained and Qataris were not expelled.

FILE PHOTO - An aerial view of Doha's diplomatic area March 21, 2013. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad/File Photo

Neighboring Kuwait has been mediating in the dispute, and its emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, urged Qatar’s ruler to calm tensions and refrain from escalating the rift, Kuwait state news agency Kuna said.

Al-Sabah called on Qatar’s Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani to give efforts at mediation a chance to contain differences, a few hours after Khalid al-Faisal, an adviser to the Saudi king, visited Kuwait.
Qatar orders its traders and shops to stop dealing in products imported from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain.