Speaking exclusively to Executive before he left for the US, American ambassador to Beirut, Jeffrey Feltman, reiterated his country’s calls for Lebanon to address its World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations and use the recent window of opportunity for positive change to push through the necessary legislative reforms to encourage greater investment opportunities.
In terms of WTO membership, Lebanon has made scant progress. Three of six laws that are prerequisite for accession are still at the council of ministers. Feltman believes that Lebanon must seize the day. “The ball is in Lebanon’s court now; they have to get the framework passed. If momentum continues, then it can be built upon,” he said adding, “Our hope is that ministers in the new government would put their political clout behind the issue.”
The benefits are not insignificant and show that Lebanon genuinely complies with trade standards. “Free trade is important,” said Feltman. “It is a benchmark of trade policy.”
Feltman said that for any future government, fiscal reform and fiscal restructuring of the country is overdue. “New government can’t have continuity of policies from governments that preceded it. Reform is not popular but it is urgent,” he said hinting at greater investment opportunities. “There has been interest in Lebanon at the Department of Commerce and the US Chambers of Commerce, but without reform in the judicial system, a serious initiative to tackle corruption, and IPR as well as improving ICT infrastructure, telecommunications rates, Lebanon will not move forward.”
IPR in particular remains a key bone of contention. Feltman revealed that the US government is currently conducting a review of Generalized System of Preferences privileges and a revocation of these privileges is a possibility, meaning that many Lebanese goods would be lose their duty-free entrance to the US market. “IPR is an issue that Lebanon should be concerned about,” said Feltman. “It is one of the few countries in the world where there has been no strategy to address the problem in the long term.”
