General

01 I am the richest man in the world with a piece of cloth on my head

Qatar is a small country with a land area of only 11000 square kilometers, which is not as big as Beijing. However, they are a large energy country with rich oil and gas resources. In particular, Qatar's proven natural gas reserves rank the third in the world, after Russia and Iran.

Qatar has earned a lot by enjoying food from God, and has been among the richest countries in the world for a long time. For example, according to the data of the World Bank, Qatar will be about 69000 US dollars in 2021, successfully ranking among the top ten in the world. In fact, this is also because the energy market has not been stable in recent years. In 2014, Qatar's per capita GDP even reached US $89000, making it one of the top three rich countries in the world.

For the World Cup, Qatar built a city called Lusail, which means "green city", and spent 45 billion dollars. Qatar has only a population of more than 2 million. Once the World Cup opened, it attracted at least 1.5 million fans and tourists. Therefore, supporting facilities are a serious problem. Therefore, it is not surprising that Qatar has built a new city for this World Cup.

In addition to the construction of Lucille New City, the eight stadiums in Qatar are also the most prestigious in the world, with local gold style, diamond style, and ingot style, without heavy samples. In addition to the magnificence of the venue, the facilities in the venue are also unprecedented, which directly refreshes the understanding of local tyrants, and can not only protect the happiness of fans, but also ensure the fairness of the event. If you have products suitable for export to Qatar, you may as well try.

Next, we will take you into the Qatar market from three parts: the bilateral international trade cooperation between China and Qatar, the export precautions to Qatar, and the characteristics and development of Middle East customers, so as to help foreign traders seize this export opportunity.

02 China Card has long been a trade friend

Qatar, located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, is an important international trade partner of China in the Middle East Gulf region. As early as 1988, China and Qatar have established diplomatic relations. In 2014, they established a strategic partnership. It is one of the first countries to respond to and join the "the Belt and Road" initiative, and has achieved AEO mutual recognition with China.

Driven by Qatar's 2030 National Vision, China and Qatar have gradually formed a cooperation pattern with oil and gas cooperation as the main axis, infrastructure construction as the focus, and finance and investment as the new growth point.

From 2016 to 2018, the volume of imports and exports of bilateral goods in international trade between China and Qatar increased year by year, while the volume of imports and exports of bilateral goods in 2019 and 2020 decreased compared with the previous year. However, in 2020, China became the largest trading partner of Qatar in the world for the first time, and also the second largest import and export trading partner of Qatar.

In terms of categories of export commodities, in 2020, China's main exports to Qatar will be machinery and appliances, electrical equipment and parts, base metals and their products, miscellaneous products, textile raw materials and textile products. According to the analysis of the 2021 edition of the Business Guide for Enterprises to Invest Abroad in Countries (Qatar) issued by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China's main exports to Qatar are still consistent with those in 2020.

In terms of imports, China's main imports from Qatar in 2021 are LNG, crude oil, plastics, rubber and its products, chemical products, etc. Qatar is not only the main source country of China's crude oil, but also the second largest source country of China's liquefied natural gas imports.

03 What should we pay attention to when exporting to Qatar?

Although Qatar is a small country, it is a rich and powerful country in the Middle East. Its social welfare is one of the best welfare countries in the world, comparable to the developed countries in Europe and the United States. These characteristics are undoubtedly an ideal place for China's international trade export enterprises to develop international trade businesses.

Customs Management Regulations (Part)

Qatar's standard import tariff is generally 5% ad valorem tax. A relatively high protective tariff will be levied on a few imported goods that conflict with local industries in Qatar.

The tariff rate of Qatar is: no more than 5% for ordinary goods; Iron ingots, non alloy hot rolled steel, 12 mm steel bars 20%; Tobacco 100%. Projects funded by the Qatar Development Bank can be exempted from the customs duties on construction machinery, raw materials and other industrial products required for project construction.

Imported goods from GCC member countries can be exempted from customs duties as long as the certificate of origin issued by the Chamber of Commerce of GCC countries is provided.

Qatar prohibits the import of alcohol and pork products.

Major trade controls

According to the Qatar Customs Law, the following trade controls should be noted:

① Individuals importing goods for sale in Qatar must register at the importer's registry and obtain the approval of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry

② Qatar does not levy tariffs on exports

③ Prohibition on the export of goods to Israel

④ Some subsidized food and antiques are prohibited from export

⑤ For meat and meat products exported to Qatar, Halal food certification and certificates of origin, food hygiene, etc. shall be provided. Halal food certification shall be handled at the Qatari Embassy in China after being certified by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade

Coc certification

Qatar's coc certification is Qatar's compliance certification. If you want to export auto parts, auto tires and some electronic products to Qatar, you must go through the coc certification, otherwise you will be unable to clear the customs and face punishment.

The coc certification is basically a law and regulation of all Middle East countries. Before export, it is required to handle the certificate in the exporting country. When customs clearance is carried out, it can be accompanied by the export products, which can be quickly cleared. The destination port will not be inspected again.

Exporters must understand the specific situation of Qatar's COC before shipment, prepare relevant materials in advance, improve the efficiency of certificate handling, and save the time for certificate handling. The following materials need to be prepared:

(1) The coc application form needs to be collected from the customer service

(2) Packing list, proforma invoice

(3) The test report of exported products does not need to be redone

(4) Photos of exported products

(5) Mail product samples

Documents required for customs clearance of Qatar Customs

(1) The original commercial invoice issued by the shipping company and stamped and signed. The original commercial invoice must be certified by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and countersigned by the Qatari Embassy in China.

(2) Certificate of Origin certified by the Chamber of Commerce and signed by the Qatari Embassy in China.

(3) The shipping company's head address and the packing list with signature and seal (including the shipping/bill number)

(4) The original registered marine bill of lading shall be endorsed and signed during customs clearance.

(5) If the above original documents are not submitted completely, the customs will impose a fine of 1% of CIF price or 500 Qatari dollars, whichever is the highest.

(6) Qatar Customs now implements 100% strict inspection of goods unpacking, and any document error will lead to a fine by the customs.

(7) If no real commercial invoice and certificate of origin signed by the embassy are submitted; Failure to declare every product truthfully and accurately. Will cause the whole batch of imported goods to be detained by the customs.

(8) Once the goods are detained by the customs, it is necessary to wait 4-6 weeks for the customs to handle them. In this case, the consignee must bear the excess warehouse rent and the fine imposed by the customs, which will bring great economic losses to the importer.

(9) There is a five day rent free period after the arrival of Qatari air cargo at the port. Failure to clear the customs after the expiration of the time limit will result in a warehouse rent of USD 0.55/KG per day.

Settlement method

① L/C payment

The letter of credit refers to the certificate that the bank has the conditions to guarantee payment. According to the general provisions of this settlement method, the buyer first deposits the payment to the bank, and the bank opens the letter of credit. The bank notifies the seller's bank of deposit to forward it to the seller. The seller delivers goods in accordance with the terms of the contract and the letter of credit. The bank pays on behalf of the buyer, and the bank assumes the payment obligation. For Qatari L/C, it is still necessary to pay attention to its soft terms to avoid collection risks.

② T/T

T/T payment is a traditional transaction mode in which your customers remit the funds to the foreign exchange bank account designated by your company. It can be divided into pre TT and post TT. The former is to directly remit all the funds to the bank account before delivery; The latter is to load the goods first and remit the money in full after seeing the fax of the bill of lading, which is suitable for large amount payment.