In his Now Ruz message, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi called for Iranians to be more self-reliant and to stop buying imported goods. He cast this as a response to sanctions imposed on Iran.
Khamenehi said the country should not be importing any foreign products when those goods are already being made in Iran.
The daily Sharq quoted Hamid Safdel, director of the Trade Promotion Office, as announcing the ban on 600 items that are already being made inside Iran, making imports unnecessary.
Manufacturers have long pushed for just such a ban because it eliminates competition and allows them to market products without worrying about quality issues. For just that very reason, many economists have opposed such import bans, saying the Iranian public just ends up getting shoddy goods at shocking prices.
Khamenehi, however, has frequently spoken out on behalf of the manufacturers and seems to see import bans as a way to boost domestic employment by creating jobs, a major demand of the public.
The Sharq report on the new import ban did not name any of the banned imports.
The Central Bank provides foreign currency at the official rate of exchange for imports, but it has announced that importers of 180 luxury products will no longer be able to get foreign currency through the bank but will have to go on the open market where the dollar costs 50 percent more than at the bank.
