Yemen Monitor/ Sana’a/ Exclusive:
Clothing merchants in Old Sana’a have initiated a rare strike in protest of the Houthi armed group’s decision to increase taxes on imported ready-made garments.
The Houthis raised customs duties on imported clothing, shoes, and bags earlier this month. They justified this move by claiming to support local products, despite the fact that Yemen imports most of its clothing.
On Thursday, clothing merchants in “Bab al-Salam,” Yemen’s largest and oldest market for clothing and textiles, closed their shops.
A merchant told Yemen Monitor, “Everything we import, from needles to fabric, is not produced in Sana’a. We have no textile or clothing factories. Everything is imported. The talk of encouraging local products is a false and exposed pretext.”
The tax authority in Sana’a confirmed a change in the collection of taxes on imported clothing from customs ports but did not specify the extent of the change.
The clothing trade union described the Houthis’ decision as “arbitrary, extortionate, and unlawful generalizations” and stated that it was taken unilaterally and without consideration.
An importer told Yemen Monitor that the goal is solely to collect more taxes, stating, “It’s strange to raise customs duties.” He noted that the Houthi group demands 30 million Yemeni riyals ($56,600) in customs duties for a shipment of imported fabrics for which he paid $1,000 in customs duties at the port of Aden, compared to five million riyals in 2022.
Three merchants in Bab al-Salam market indicated that discussions are underway among market owners regarding further escalation measures to force the Houthis to reverse their decision.
Merchants point out the decline in purchasing power among the population in recent years due to the Houthis’ refusal to pay the salaries of government employees.
They argued that raising customs duties would lead to the closure of their shops, as people would be unable to afford clothing at five times its current price.
