Manufacturers are furious over Economy Minister Naftali Bennett's plan to exempt importers from the requirement to obtain Israeli standards.
Manufacturers are furious over Minister of the Economy Naftali Bennett's plan to exempt importers from the requirement to obtain Israeli standards for scores of goods that already have international standards. Bennett says that the reform, which will be included in the 2013 economic arrangements bill, will lower prices on a wide range of imported goods by 10%.
Manufacturers Association of Israel CEO Amir Hayek said that Bennett had not held any discussions on the subject with manufacturers to examine the repercussions of the proposal. "We favor competition for the Standards Institution of Israel, but non-reciprocal competition is unacceptable. A situation in which an Israeli exporter will have to examine its products in the target country, while the same duty will not apply in the other direction is unacceptable. Competition without reciprocity will harm Israeli industry. We've opposed such measures in the past, and if the subject comes up in an organized discussion as required, we'll express our position," he said.
The Standards Institution declined to comment on Bennett's proposal. It said that its director, Danny Goldstein, has not yet seen the proposal, and that he intended to discuss the matter with Bennett. In the past the Standards Institution has warned that opening the market to imports without Israeli standards would flood the market with flawed and unsafe products.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 22, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013