Khoury: Banning Entry of Turkish Items Has No Political Background

Caretaker Economy Minister Raed Khoury assured on Thursday that banning the entry of some Turkish products into the Lebanese market aims at safeguarding the economy, as he assured that Lebanon’s ties with Turkey are “very good.”

“The Cabinet’s decision to protect Lebanese products does not have any political background, but an economic one,” said Khoury at a joint press conference with head of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists Fadi Gemayel.

“The primary aim of the decision is to protect the Lebanese industries and all other sectors,” he added noting that illegal competition has made several plants around Lebanon shut their doors down.

"So we have taken the decision to prevent the import of biscuits, wafers and detergents from Turkey to protect the Lebanese industry,” he said, stressing strict measures to curb smuggling through illegal ports.

Khoury also noted that the devaluation of the Turkish lira has made these products very cheap which in return affected Lebanese industries that produce similar items.