An Examination of the Change in the Policy of Customs Duty Exemption for the Import of Industrial Machinery in Iran: An Application of the Advocacy Coalition Framework

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Technology Studies Institute, Tehran. Iran

2 Associate Professor, Allameh Tabatabaei University , Tehran. Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Technology Studies Institute, Tehran. Iran

10.22034/jstp.2026.12127.1963

Abstract

Tariff policies are among the most important regulatory instruments of the government in the industrial sector, and changes in them—particularly in an infrastructural sector such as the machinery industry—are shaped by complex policy conflicts. This study examines the change in the policy of exemption from customs duties on the import of industrial machinery in Iran; a policy that had been in place for approximately 40 years but was removed in 1401 with the enactment of the Knowledge-Based Production Leap Law, thereby subjecting these imports to customs duties. The main objective of the study is, through applying the Advocacy Coalition Framework as the theoretical framework, to explain the why and how of this policy change by identifying the coalitions involved, their belief systems, power resources, and strategies, and by analyzing the process that led to the final victory of the coalition advocating the removal of the exemption. This research adopts a qualitative methodology, and the data were collected and analyzed through documents, statements, and interviews with key actors over the period 1399 to 1403. The findings show that this policy change was not a simple bureaucratic adjustment, but rather the result of a turbulent struggle between two rival coalitions, each confronting the other on the basis of its own beliefs and through the use of different strategies and resources.

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