Roundup: Customs rate hike without countermeasures may have huge impact for crisis-hit Lebanon, say experts

BEIRUT, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Since Lebanon raised the customs exchange rate by tenfold from the long-standing 1,507.5 Lebanese pounds against one U.S. dollar to 15,000 pounds on Dec. 1, 2022, experts have warned of huge repercussions for the nation in the absence of necessary countermeasures.

According to officials, hiking the rate on taxes and fees collected from imported goods will boost state revenues and represents a step toward unifying different exchange rates existing in Lebanon, as required by a staff-level agreement reached between the country and the International Monetary Fund last April in exchange for a 3-billion-dollar bailout.