Customs, competition dampen Gulf export hopes

Lebanese exporters hoping to send their goods to the lucrative Gulf market through the reopened Syrian-Jordanian border are grappling with higher Syrian customs duties and competition from producers who have taken their place. The Oct. 15 reopening of the Nassib border crossing holds out the prospect of a much-needed boost for Lebanon’s economy, reviving a trade artery for the overland export of its fruit, vegetables and manufactured goods. But at the Masnaa border, where hundreds of trucks used to cross into Syria each day, there is no sign yet of traffic recovering to the level that existed before the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011.

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