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July 23, 2019 | Sami Atallah, Nancy Ezzeddine, and Jana MouradLebanon Must Develop an Export Strategy to Create Jobs The Lebanese industrial sector is plagued with high production costs and limited government support. The worsening regional situation has contributed to the reduction in the sector’s exports, further aggravating its weak performance. Despite these difficulties, the industrial sector has managed to maintain its position in global markets and has displayed a propensity for potential growth. This brief, which is part of a three policy briefs series on manufacturing exports, calls for an export promotion strategy as part of an industrial policy whose aim is to increase growth and create jobs. To this end, we argue that the government must develop a more nuanced export strategy that promotes specific products to key markets, tackle the factors that led to loss in market share, and work with the Association of Lebanese Industrialists to reduce production costs and trade logistics.
