Meeting at the Ministry of Finance to Discuss Environmental Fees and Their Impacts, and Revising Some of Them

A meeting was held at the Ministry of Finance dedicated to discussing the issue of environmental fees and their economic and social implications, as well as exploring possible alternatives, in light of the need to secure resources to address the waste crisis without imposing additional burdens on consumers and productive sectors.

The discussion led to an agreement on revising some of the proposed fees on certain goods listed in the decree, after canceling fees previously imposed on food items, raw materials used in local production, and fuels, while taking into account the protection of domestic consumption and production and minimizing any inflationary effects.

The meeting was attended by Ministers of Finance and Economy and Trade Yassine Jabber and Ammar Al-Bassat, Member of Parliament Fared Al-Boustani, Chairman of the Parliamentary Economic Committee, former Minister of the Economy Muhammad Chqir, Chairman of the Economic and Social and Environmental Council Charles El-Arabi, General Secretary of the General Labor Union Bashar Al-Asmar, President of the Industrialists' Association Suleiman Zuhayni, President of the Beirut Merchants Association Nohad Shamas, and Mr. Salah Assiran. Also present was Mohamed Hajj Ali, a specialist at the Ministry of Finance focusing on economic and social impact studies.

Following the meeting, Minister of Finance Yassine Jabber stated, "The meeting held with the economic bodies, attended by the Minister of Economy, the General Labor Union, and the Chairman of the Economic and Social and Environmental Council, former Minister Muhammad Chqir, along with members of the economic bodies and their representatives, was very important." He added, "Discussions have been ongoing for some time regarding economic decisions, aiming to ensure they are subject to consultation and mutual understanding between the government and economic bodies."

He said, "We reached a good consensus in this meeting. There is now an urgent need to resolve the waste issue, and the alarm bell has been sounded on this file—now is the time to find a solution."

He clarified that "laws addressing this issue have already been issued, including one dealing with landfills, and another linked to municipalities, allowing them to collect funds to manage waste collection and cleaning."

He added, "We are compelled to issue a decree that brings certain funds into the authority and the treasury to address landfill issues, in accordance with the existing law. We agreed on acceptable rates that will not significantly affect consumers, ensuring that daily consumption goods, especially food items, are not targeted."

Jabber noted that "a meeting will be held tomorrow with the Prime Minister to formalize this understanding," emphasizing: "We are committed to safeguarding the public interest and consumer welfare, to prevent inflation in the country, while simultaneously striving to find a lasting solution to the waste problem."