In mid-May, the Lebanese authorities raised the “customs dollar” – the rate on which the value of duties and taxes on imported goods and merchandise is calculated, from 60,000 Lebanese pounds to 86,000 Lebanese pounds.
Clashes broke out, on Tuesday, between Lebanese protesters and members of the army who worked to open a main road after it was closed in the capital, Beirut.
A number of demonstrators, who are importers of cars, blocked traffic in both directions in front of the port of Beirut, which led to a suffocating traffic jam.
The demonstrators, who took to the street to protest against raising the customs dollar, set tires on fire in the middle of the road.
The protesters held banners reading, “Destroy our homes.”
In mid-May, the Lebanese authorities raised the “customs dollar” – the rate on which the value of duties and taxes on imported goods and merchandise is calculated, from 60,000 Lebanese pounds to 86,000 Lebanese pounds.
This is the fourth adjustment of its kind to the customs dollar exchange rate since it jumped about ten times to 15,000 Lebanese pounds in December, to match the new official exchange rate in Lebanon.
