The Minister of Economy and Trade in the caretaker government, Amin Salam, has convened the National Pricing Policy Council, which was recently formed, to meet at 11 AM next Thursday at the Ministry of Economy and Trade. The agenda includes the following topics:
1. A general presentation of price movements and their developments, studying the external and internal factors that have affected them since the beginning of the crisis.
2. A general overview of the mechanisms that help determine profit margins and set the correct limits for service fees and the prices of locally produced and imported goods.
3. The basic foundations for adopting a general policy on prices and supply.
4. Coordination mechanisms among all agencies concerned with pricing and supply policy.
It is noteworthy that the National Pricing Policy Council includes all stakeholders in the economic and financial sectors, both public and private, as well as all segments of Lebanese society. It is the national body authorized to address price fluctuations in Lebanese markets by establishing a pricing policy in which everyone contributes based on their sector and the available data, making it applicable and supportive of market monitoring efforts simultaneously. Given the worsening economic crisis in Lebanon, accompanied by a decline in the value of the Lebanese pound, uncontrolled prices of goods and services, and the weakening purchasing power of the Lebanese citizen, it is no longer acceptable to ignore the need for addressing this issue to avoid the worst. Therefore, the council's meeting has become an urgent and critical necessity more than ever.
In this regard, a member of the National Pricing Council and Secretary-General of the General Labor Union, Saad al-Din Hamidi Saqr, stated to "the Central" that the General Labor Union will not be a mere bystander in this council if the issue of raising the prices of goods and foodstuffs and their detachment from any oversight is not addressed. He called for these meetings to be held periodically, not seasonally, and to tackle the rampant increases that are far from logic and objectivity, and for its decisions to be strict and to take firm actions against every violator, granting greater powers to protect consumers, expediting judicial rulings, and increasing penalties for violations.
Hamidi Saqr added: One of the advantages of this council is that it includes all stakeholders in pricing; therefore, we should reach a positive outcome as citizens can no longer bear the exorbitant price hikes.
