The head of Jordan’s Association of Customs Clearance and Freight Transport Companies, Deifallah Abu Aqoula, said Syria’s decision to bar non-Syrian trucks from entering Syrian territory through land crossings came as “a surprise,” and requires applying a reciprocal transport mechanism at the shared border for trucks headed directly to Syria, whether Jordanian or otherwise.
In remarks to CNN Arabic on Sunday evening, February 8, Abu Aqoula said the Syrian decision disrupted commercial transport movement, and would have major negative repercussions, especially for Jordanian exports.
Syria’s General Authority for Land and Sea Ports had decided not to allow non-Syrian trucks to enter Syrian territory through land border crossings. Instead, goods are to be transferred between Syrian and non-Syrian trucks within the customs yard at each crossing, known as “al-Tabbun,” in accordance with approved procedures.
In its decision issued on February 6, the authority exempted transit trucks, provided customs police escort them between the entry and exit points under applicable procedures, in an effort to regulate freight and transport through land border crossings and seaports, according to the text of the decision.
Abu Aqoula said the previous procedure allowed goods to be delivered directly to trucks inside Syrian territory through a door-to-door method, whether the cargo came from Gulf countries or from the Port of Aqaba, facilitating faster and more efficient trade exchange.
Repercussions of the decision, 500 trucks delayed daily
The head of the Jordanian association said the new mechanism requires unloading cargo at the Jordanian-Syrian border onto Syrian trucks that then complete delivery to the final destination (back-to-back), which “creates congestion and major delays due to Syria’s weak infrastructure,” as he put it.
He added that the number of daily trucks heading from Jordan and Gulf countries to Syria reaches about 500, and that applying the reciprocal transport system would delay trucks for up to two weeks, while imposing additional costs on their owners.
“This decision is catastrophic for the sector, because it will directly affect Jordanian exports and lead to the loss of the competitive advantage that shipments through the Port of Aqaba offer in terms of time and cost,” he said.
The decision applies to trucks headed directly to the Syrian market, while it does not affect transit shipments passing through Syria to Turkey and Lebanon.
Abu Aqoula said the problem lies with trucks that used to unload their cargo inside Syria, which is what harms the Jordanian sector, as truck owners will be forced to wait for unloading at the border due to weak infrastructure, leading to added costs and significant delays.
He added the new system would divert the route of trucks coming from Aqaba toward the Port of Latakia.
CNN Arabic cited sources in Jordan’s Ministry of Transport as saying the latest understandings on the issue are expected to be announced today, Monday. The decision has also angered the kingdom’s truck drivers’ sector, given the “slowdown in transport movement, delivery schedules, and supply chains in terms of time and cost” it would cause.
Talks with the Syrian side
Jordan’s al-Mamlaka TV channel also quoted the Secretary General of Jordan’s Ministry of Transport, Fares Abu Dayyeh, as saying on Sunday, February 8, that discussions with the Syrian side are deepening to reach details on the procedures followed in land transport, including facilitating truck movement, easing complex logistics operations, and focusing on coordination between customs and transport in both countries.
On applying the reciprocity principle to Syrian trucks, Abu Dayyeh said, “No Syrian trucks will enter as long as reciprocal transport becomes the practice at the Nasib border crossing (on the Syrian side). This automatically means Syrian trucks will not enter.”
On the buildup of trucks, Abu Dayyeh confirmed this would be part of the discussions, with talks set to examine the possibility of expanding yards and providing the appropriate equipment to carry out reciprocal transport operations more smoothly.
Trade between Jordan and Syria has seen an unprecedented rise, with Jordanian exports to Syria increasing by 351% over the first 11 months of 2025, according to a report by Jordan’s Department of Statistics.
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