Foreign ministry to review bilateral trade agreements, LIA cheers

Following a wave of complaints by the Lebanese Industrialists Association (LIA) to the foreign ministry on the flooding of productive sectors with imported goods, and its appeal to salvage domestic industry, foreign minister, Jibran Bassil, pledged last week to reconsider trade relations with exporting countries. Bassil announced this in separate letters sent to the ministries of industry and economy. Likewise, LIA president Fadi Gemayel, commended Bassil’s move which he said substantiated the fact that industry has become a national concern par excellence. It now receives the attention of government officials, who are now convinced that industry is at the core of national economy, LIA chief noted, stressing that the Association continues to work on achieving a number of demands and awaits the adoption of previous government promises, namely, the implementation of protectionist measures. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, June 9 and 10, 2017)

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