Lebanon is planning to gradually impose customs duties on certain imported commodities to protect its industrial sector, according to a report.

“From now on, I will pursue a policy that relies mostly on imposing Customs duties on imported products and mainly goods that are subsidized by their countries of origin and which pose great competition to Lebanese industries,” Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan was quoted as saying in The Daily Star report.

“One of the main measures that should be taken in this respect is to impose Customs on imports to boost the consumption of Lebanese products in our market,” he said.

“This will also limit our trade deficit, which reached $16.7 billion last year and which constitutes a third of our GDP,” he added.

Lebanese industrial exports plunged by about 9.2 per cent in the first eight months of last year compared to the same period in 2013, despite the government’s ongoing efforts to open up new markets for local industries, according to statistics issued by the Industry Ministry in December.

The plan is to impose duties on leather, iron, plastic, paper and food products, the report added.