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By MARGHERITA STANCATI And HABIB KHAN TOTAKHIL
KABULThe Afghan government agreed to waive millions of dollars in customs fines on containers and equipment being sent home by the U.S.-led military coalition, putting an end to a dispute that had become a sticking point in relations between Kabul and Washington.
The decision removes a major logistical hurdle for the withdrawal of troops, and comes after U.S. lawmakers threatened to withhold aid to Afghanistan over the customs fees.
The cash-strapped Afghan government sought to impose $70 million in penalties on the international coalition for missing customs paperwork required to move 70,000 trucks carrying military equipment out of the country.
The coalition pushed back, pointing to an existing military agreement that exempts their trucks and other goods from custom duties.
The dispute was resolved following high-level talks between the Afghan government and the military coalition, officials from both sides said.
The two sides agreed on a compromise that allows the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force to fill in the missing paperwork for the trucks now, said Abdul Qadir Jaillani, spokesman for Afghanistan's ministry of finance.
"Fortunately, we reached an agreement with ISAF commanders, who said they would process documents for all the 70,000 trucks," he said. "This was a matter of law enforcement, and now they are obeying the law, so the government won't fine them."
Afghanistan's customs department originally required foreign military equipment to be registered when it first entered the country, something military officials said wasn't always practical or possible in a war zone.
Previously, Afghan officials indicated they weren't willing to budge on the issue. But the request to fine U.S. and international forces amid the withdrawal had angered some U.S. lawmakers, who proposed to withhold five dollars of U.S. assistance to Afghanistan for every dollar imposed in custom fees on U.S. equipment and supplies exiting the country.
That proposal was included in a version of the annual foreign-assistance bill passed by a Senate panel last month. "We are giving the [Afghan] government a clear and unambiguous message," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, (D., Vt.). "After all we have sacrificed in lives, in the wounds of our soldiers, and in the huge investments we have made to help that country, this is an insult."
The Afghan government has previously assessed close to $1 billion in taxes and fees on reconstruction projects funded by the U.S., despite bilateral agreements that Washington says exempt such aid from taxation.
The top U.S. general in Afghanistan welcomed the Afghan government's decision to drop the fines on exiting trucks and equipment.
"This agreement provides our forces with the freedom of movement necessary to effectively support our Afghan counterparts as they secure the Afghan people," said U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the ISAF commander, in a statement.
Gen. Dunford praised the "direct engagement" of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal in resolving the issue.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last month, Gen. Dunford said senior Afghan officials had promised the customs issues would soon be resolved.
Relations between Washington and Kabul remain complicated. In June, Mr. Karzai formally suspended negotiations over a possible long-term U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, angered by what he perceived as U.S. involvement in the unexpectedly high-profile opening of a Taliban political office in Qatar.
....
By MARGHERITA STANCATI And HABIB KHAN TOTAKHIL
KABULThe Afghan government agreed to waive millions of dollars in customs fines on containers and equipment being sent home by the U.S.-led military coalition, putting an end to a dispute that had become a sticking point in relations between Kabul and Washington.
The decision removes a major logistical hurdle for the withdrawal of troops, and comes after U.S. lawmakers threatened to withhold aid to Afghanistan over the customs fees.
The cash-strapped Afghan government sought to impose $70 million in penalties on the international coalition for missing customs paperwork required to move 70,000 trucks carrying military equipment out of the country.
The coalition pushed back, pointing to an existing military agreement that exempts their trucks and other goods from custom duties.
The dispute was resolved following high-level talks between the Afghan government and the military coalition, officials from both sides said.
The two sides agreed on a compromise that allows the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force to fill in the missing paperwork for the trucks now, said Abdul Qadir Jaillani, spokesman for Afghanistan's ministry of finance.
"Fortunately, we reached an agreement with ISAF commanders, who said they would process documents for all the 70,000 trucks," he said. "This was a matter of law enforcement, and now they are obeying the law, so the government won't fine them."
Afghanistan's customs department originally required foreign military equipment to be registered when it first entered the country, something military officials said wasn't always practical or possible in a war zone.
Previously, Afghan officials indicated they weren't willing to budge on the issue. But the request to fine U.S. and international forces amid the withdrawal had angered some U.S. lawmakers, who proposed to withhold five dollars of U.S. assistance to Afghanistan for every dollar imposed in custom fees on U.S. equipment and supplies exiting the country.
That proposal was included in a version of the annual foreign-assistance bill passed by a Senate panel last month. "We are giving the [Afghan] government a clear and unambiguous message," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, (D., Vt.). "After all we have sacrificed in lives, in the wounds of our soldiers, and in the huge investments we have made to help that country, this is an insult."
The Afghan government has previously assessed close to $1 billion in taxes and fees on reconstruction projects funded by the U.S., despite bilateral agreements that Washington says exempt such aid from taxation.
The top U.S. general in Afghanistan welcomed the Afghan government's decision to drop the fines on exiting trucks and equipment.
"This agreement provides our forces with the freedom of movement necessary to effectively support our Afghan counterparts as they secure the Afghan people," said U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the ISAF commander, in a statement.
Gen. Dunford praised the "direct engagement" of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal in resolving the issue.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last month, Gen. Dunford said senior Afghan officials had promised the customs issues would soon be resolved.
Relations between Washington and Kabul remain complicated. In June, Mr. Karzai formally suspended negotiations over a possible long-term U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, angered by what he perceived as U.S. involvement in the unexpectedly high-profile opening of a Taliban political office in Qatar.
