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Diverging stands continue surfacing over Lebanon’s planned accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), with the private sector obviously in favor for a number of reasons. This view was clearly articulated by the head of the Federation of Lebanese Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture Mohamad Shucair, who said the country cannot remain outside the organisation like other economically weak states. Similarly, the head of the Lebanese Businessmen Gathering, Fouad Zmk7hal, considered that joining the international organization will constitute an incentive for starting sectoral and legislative reforms at the national level. In fact, he said, many WTO-stipulated provisions, notably public health and intellectual property protection, require reforms that fall in the interest of any member or non-member country. On the other hand, the president of the Lebanese Farmers’ Association, Antoine Howayek, pointed out  to An Nahar newspaper, some of the negative outcomes on agriculture, building his analysis on similar ramifications that have befallen the sector after an earlier accession to the Agreement for the Facilitation and Promotion of Intra-Arab Trade and the Lebanese-European Partnership Agreements. “Why venture into a new, probably bad, experience,” Howayek asked, describing Lebanon’s would-be membership as an outdated move. He explained that most member states are now dropping out, particularly in the wake of the 2008 world financial crisis. Only 5% of the Lebanese population, mostly big investors will benefit from the process, he added. His view was shared by the head of the Beqaa Farmers Association, Ibrahim Tarshishi who expressed his total rejection to Lebanon’s membership for the same reasons mentioned above. (An Nahar, Al Diyar, March 17 and 18, 2016)

 

The Minister of Industry (MoI), Dr. Hussein Haj Hassan, discussed on Monday with the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) the mission of the delegation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) currently visiting Lebanon to try and talk the government into joining the international organization. ALI members welcomed the minister’s bold and sincere position, particularly “his role and responsibilities in protecting the national economic interests and the productive agricultural and industrial sectors.” On the opposite side, and in a statement released this Monday, the Lebanese General Trade Union (LGTU) completely rejected Lebanon’s accession to the WTO before the “setting up of restrictions that protect its economy and realizing a reduction in production costs, including the prices of fuel, expensive services and infrastructure.” The statement criticized the promotional campaign that calls for speeding up the accession process, “on the basis that everything foreign is good.” The trade union warned that such a move will hurt the domestic economy through removing all economic restrictions and eliminating tariffs constraints on imported goods, noting that the weakened small and medium enterprises cannot compete with intercontinental companies. “This inevitably will lead to their collapse and eventual closure, while turning our agricultural landscapes into barren uncultivable stretches of land,” the statement concluded. (As Safir, An Nahar, March 15, 2016)

 

In a special feature published yesterday, Al Mustaqbal daily newspaper highlighted the current clash of views between traders concerning the final stage of the extensive rehabilitation project of Saida’s commercial district. According to Al Mustaqbal the disagreement centers largely around the

organizational nature of the would-be marketplace and whether it should be restricted to pedestrians or if cars should be permitted to

park inside. The newspaper argued that while the southern city’s municipality favors the first option, traders favor the second but are still undecided over the matter. As a result, the Traders’ Association for Saida and Suburbia called for a referendum upon which a decision will be taken. 

Also as part of the feater, Al Mustaqbal interviewed the advisor of the initiative for the rehabilitation of Saida’s Centre Ville, engineer Abdel Wahed Shehab, who disclosed that the function of the new souk is to become a super mall that will accommodate restaurants, cafes and entertainment, i.e. places basically targeting families with the aim of attracting new investments.(Al Mustaqbal, March 13, 2016)

 

The Ministry of Industry launched yesterday the ‘Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in Lebanese Food Industries Orientation Guide’ targeting poultry, red and processed meat, breads, pastries and ready-made food sectors, and which is the outcome of collaborative work between the Ministry and the UNDP program ‘Transfer of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals Lebanon (TOKTEN). On this, Minister Hussein Haj Hassan underlined the importance of such an endeavor which reflects clear engagement and cooperation between all the partners involved in the food manufacturing sector. “We would like to preserve and develop the prosperity of this sector for it represents a large part of the domestic industry, is an important source of job creation and accounts for 20-25% of exports. “Besides, it provides consumer food commodities to the local community,” Haj Hassan stated. Finally, he stressed the need to implement legislations related to this sector, to improve technical standards, conduct regular lab tests and promote interaction between state-control agencies and self-control systems existing within the private establishments. (As Safir, Al Diyar, March 11, 2016)

 

The French delegate to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Jean Paul Thuillier, emphasized the gains Lebanon could reap from its accession to the WTO, while acknowledging the need of taking into consideration the country specific interest while dispelling any concerns on the Lebanese side. Thuillier’s statement was made after his meeting with the Lebanese Prime Minister, Tamam Salam, and the Economy Minister Dr. Alan Hakim. The latter underlined the importance of such accession, particularly that the WTO constitutes around 90% of global trade and includes some 162 member states and 20 observer countries. The WTO delegation later on met with the Industry Minister, Dr. Hussein Haj Hassan, who described Lebanon’s bad experiences with the Agreement for the Facilitation and Promotion of Intra-Arab Trade and the Lebanese-European Partnership Agreement. He pointed out to the negative outcomes of theses two agreements namely the fall of exports, and in growing trade deficit. He went on to say that these agreements have laid down a list of stringent trade requirements; at a time when Lebanon places no restrictions on countries members of these trade agreements. However, Haj Hassan said, that Lebanese officials and not Arabs or Europeans are to be blamed for the present situation and for giving too much in the course of negotiations. In a related vein, the National Economy, Commerce, Industry and Planning Committee endorsed two draft laws in a meeting held yesterday. The first gives permission to enter the Regional Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement in the framework of the Euro-Med Partnership Agreement and the second involves allowing the government to approve amendments introduced on Articles 8 and 18 of the Establishment of the Customs Cooperation Council Treaty. Lebanon, it should be noted, became member in the latter since 20/5/1960. (An Nahar, Al Diyar, March 10, 2016)

 

The local Daily Star newspaper published a feature today on the growing demand by consumers on reportedly pesticide-free and healthy organic products as compared to their traditional counterparts. In order to get more insight on the subject, the newspaper interviewed a number of nutrition experts who explained their viewpoints. Bassima Rida, for example, said it is “difficult to determine if such products are really organic in the absence of market control.” Likewise, the president of the Farmers Association in South Lebanon, Ramez Osseiran, indicated that there is “no way to produce all these amounts of organic products that we see in the shops here, especially when we know that they require special ingredients that we do not have in the soil of Lebanon or even in most lands around the world.” Similarly, the head of the Lebanese Farmers Association, Tony Howayek, explained that since “there is no proper regulation of such goods, anyone can sell them as organic and at high prices.” He disclosed that after a visit by economy ministry reps to the famous Souk El Tayeb market that sells organic products and testing samples of their displayed goods, “they found deposits that made them non-organic. Meanwhile, organic agriculture specialist, Haifa Abbas, considered that while the Italian controlled Mediterranean Institute of Certification (IMC) provides control and certification of organic farming products, “they are not doing their job properly.” She said IMC experts do not make regular visits and that the tests done are not up to international standards. (Daily Star, March 5, 2016)

 

The Minister of Trade and Economy, Dr. Alan Hakim, disclosed after a meeting with the European Union Ambassador to Lebanon, Christina Lassen, that discussions centered on relations between Lebanon and the EU and on clarifying certain areas of cooperation between the two parties. Hakim said the meeting comes as part of ongoing consultations related to Lebanese-European relations under the new European Neighborhood Policy Agreement, particularly in terms of facilitating inter-trade and providing access to European markets for made-in-Lebanon products. Hakim indicated that preparations for the visit next week of the head of the delegation responsible for negotiating Lebanon’s accession to the World Trade Organization were also discussed.  The meeting also delved in the EU-Lebanon cooperation in the fields of investment and improvement of the business environment in specific sectors and the significance of diversification of markets to ease potential risks on domestic economy. “Every arrangement has its pros and cons, therefore, we need to develop a comprehensive vision of the Lebanese markets and what they require. We need to identify our goal concerning these agreements so that we can negotiate accordingly,” Hakim concluded. (Al Diyar, March 5, 2016)

 

The Secretary General of the Federation of Arab Banks, Wissam Fatooh, underlined the significance of small and medium enterprises (SME) in socio-economic development. Fatooh was speaking yesterday during the opening of the second national Lebanese products and handicrafts exhibition which was organized in Hamra Main Street by the ‘Asdikaa Jiddan’ (Close Friends) association. He pointed out that developed countries, like for example, the United States, Turkey or Europe rely by nearly 90% on SMEs to boost their domestic economies, urging the banking sector to help in funding such endeavors. He noted the supportive policies of Bank of Lebanon’s Governor, Riad Salameh, and clear instructions to the local banking sector to provide increased services to this sector. “We, in the Federation of Arab Banks, are ready to assist any funding mechanism in that direction, particularly in support of to the national handicrafts and artisan industry of which we are proud” Fatooh concluded. (As Safir, Al Diyar, March 7, 2016)

 

The Pan-Arab forum organised by the Arab Labor Organization (ALO) called for supporting in-country employment offices through the proper provision, training and rehabilitation of potential workforce and the removal of restrictions limiting their efficiency and performance. The event was held under the patronage of Lebanese Labor Minister, Sajaan Azzi, under the heading of ‘Development of Employment and Vocational Guidance Offices and Enhancement of their Role in the Recruitment of Arab Youth’. Recommendations issued at the close of the 3-day seminar underlined the importance of: the following: regulating the work of such offices in Arab countries through expending their geographic in proportion with the deployment of workforce and unemployed cadres; linking employment with economic establishments and business owners organizations in order to stimulate the creation of jobs; coordinating with formal and non-formal vocational training institutions; urging Arab governments to set up an integrated labor market structure associated with the training and educational system and aimed to providing accurate data that helps identify the present and future needs for talents, skills and university degrees; developing legislations that facilitate the launching and mobilization of private recruitment offices that will be monitored by the concerned ministries and departments; and finally, providing support self-employment programs, individual initiatives and entrepreneurships, as well as develop and assist small and medium enterprises to overcome all obstacles facing their institution. (As Safir, March 4, 2016)