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After the halting of the ban on the importation of Turkish goods at the request of Prime Minister Hariri, (https://goo.gl/Ks4X2H), President Michel Aoun on Friday voiced his support to protect Lebanese industries, including the agri-food sector. Aoun, who was speaking after his meeting with former MP Abbas Hashem and the head of the Syndicate of Agri-Food Industrialists, Sammy Khoury, pledged to protect Lebanon’s industries from foreign competition that weakens the Lebanese aptitudes and potentials. In a related context, Al Akhbar newspaper reported today that the decision to ban the entry into the country of some Turkish goods that compete with similar made-in-Lebanon products has triggered a division between those who consider it a ‘sovereign decision’ aimed to safeguard local industries, and those who view it as ‘imbalanced’ preceded by failed attempts to enforce protectionist restraints on European and Arab goods that have flooded local markets. The real economic test, Al Akhbar wrote, begins when the government seriously discusses the issue of ‘invasion’ of foreign goods coming from European and GCC countries. The ban measure is a good one, the newspaper analyzed, but so far, it does not suggest a strategic course of action or that it is part of a clear-cut economic policy or plan, noting that what happened is almost discretionary. It means that out of 26 complaints on dumping and increase in imports that have been completely studied or still under the scrutiny of the National Production Protection Department at the Ministry of Trade, not one single proposal has been submitted to the Cabinet. That is, except for the one related to Turkish goods, noting that there is no binding bilateral trade agreements between the two countries which requires both sides not to take unilateral decisions regarding the exchange of goods. For more on the subject, kindly visit the following link: (https://goo.gl/F83GSs). (Al Akhbar, Al Diyar, June 9, 12, 2018)

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While the phenomenon of suicide cases by migrant domestic workers in Lebanon continues, the local media still treats it lightly raising no questions on the part of concerned authorities. In this respect, newspapers today reported the news of the death of Ethiopian MWDW, Jiran Gat Tadis who was found hanging from the balcony of her employer in the southern town of Abba. The police arrived at the scene of the incident for investigation. The victim’s body was rushed to Nabih Berri government hospital in Nabatiyeh. (Al Mustaqbal, June 12, 2018)

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In cooperation with the Lebanese Embassy in Switzerland, the agriculture ministry held yesterday a new Lebanese Wine Day in the Swiss city of Munich in the presence of a crowd of dignitaries and the participation of some 33 Lebanese wine producers, and with the implementation of Evention LLC. On the occasion, the director general of the ministry, Louis Lahoud, said the ministry will continue to back the flourishing local wine industry and wine producers, noting, the event comes as part of the agriculture ministry’s initiative since 2013 to organize wine days in Paris, Berlin, New York City, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Lahoud stressed the ministry shall take all necessary measures to protect wine production in domestic markets and is planning a consumption-bound campaign in coordination with concerned parties to this end. The ministry will also seek to increase exports to European, US and global markets, Lahoud added. For his part, the president of the Union Vinicole du Liban (UVL), Zafer Shawi, disclosed that the number of Lebanese wineries has risen from 8 to 50 wineries in the past 20 years, noting that producers are now expanding their cultivation to new areas and using more than 30 varieties of grapes to yield a wide selection of wines that caters for all tastes. (Al Diyar, June 12, 2018)

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The Saudi General Directorate of Border Guards announced on Sunday that vacancies will be open for women in military positions for the rank of security inspection soldier to be stationed in specific areas at the Kingdom’s borders. The Directorate said in a statement, that it will be accepting applications until next Saturday for posts in the governorates of Riyadh, Jazan, Makkah, the northern border, Tabuk, Al Sharkiyeh, Aseer, Najran, Al Madina and Al Jowf. Conditions for the job include the following: the female applicant must be born and raised in Saudi Arabia; cannot be a state or military employee or terminated from service; she must have a good reputation with no criminal record; a holder of an independent national ID; married to a Saudi and has to pass all procedures for admission including a personal interview. The statement made clear that the applicant must be a holder of a high-school diploma or equivalent and must be aged between 25 and 35. (Al Diyar, June 12, 2018)

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Amidst preparations to form a new cabinet, the head of the Beqaa Farmers’ Gathering, Ibrahim Tarshishi, called on Saturday for appointing a new agriculture minister who responds to Lebanese farmers’ demands and bans the import of unwanted goods, pointing to dumping of the markets with smuggled products. Similarly, the head of the Potato Farmers’ Syndicate in Bekaa, George Sakr, demanded the intervention of the Customs and Army to put an end to illicit smuggling activities on the borders. In this respect, a Customs squad stormed on June 2 a warehouse for storing potatoes transported from Syria in boxes marked ‘Lebanese potatoes’ in the Central Bekaa town of Karak. On the other hand, the vice-president of the General Labor Confederation and head of the Confederation of Unions of Tobacco and Tambac Workers in Lebanon, Hassan Faqih, appealed for setting up a disaster relief emergency fund to support tobacco growers and include them in social security, expand tobacco cultivated areas and issue new licenses to farmers. Meanwhile, the director general of the ministry of agriculture, Louis Lahoud, toured on Monday the agricultural sectors in Jbeil to assess their needs. Concurrently, Kesrouan MPs held a broad meeting to discuss ways to compensate farmers affected by the recent storms which hit the country and to facilitate the marketing of agricultural produce in the district. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, June 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 2018)

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Following contradictory reactions between opposition and support to the recent government decision banning Turkish imports, (https://goo.gl/ytq8gm), MP Samir Jisr said yesterday that at the request of prime minister Saad Hariri, the suspension of entry of wafer biscuits and similar goodies from Turkey has been put off for five months, namely for orders made before the ban date. Jisr, who was speaking after a meeting with a delegation of the Confectioners’ Traders Committee in Tripoli, explained that the delay intended to alleviate damage on Lebanese traders who ordered the imports. He said the Premier is following up the issue in order to strike a balance between protecting domestic production and avoid hurting Lebanese merchants. He called for tightening customs control on all commodities entering Lebanon irrespective of the exporting country. In parallel, the minister of trade and economy in the caretaker government, Raed Khury, announced the beginning of the structural change that shifts the economy from a rentier to a productive. He was speaking during a joint press conference with LIA president, Fadi Gemayel, to explain the cabinet decision to support the national industry (https://goo.gl/UDz9GZ). Khury revealed that within the coming two months, the economic model proposed by the consulting firm McKinsey to help formulate a new economic vision for Lebanon will be presented in order to identify the productive sectors that boast a preferential value for the country to this end. In his turn, Gemayel described the government’s decision to protect made-in-Lebanon products as a “victory for the national economy”, stressing that "such efforts will continue until a solution is secured for the remaining 25 products. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, June 8, 2018)

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