By Testimony Barsile
Monrovia-President George M. Weah has approved a new schedule which reduces tariffs on a wide range of commodities being imported into the Liberian market.
The New tariff regime was submitted to the President by the Liberia Revenue Authority Commissioner-General Elfreda Tamba in keeping with an earlier mandate within 72 hours.
The schedule takes immediate effect and makes reduction ranging from 81 to 40 percent in over 2000 widely consumed commodities.
According to a Ministry of Information release, Some of the reduction includes Pig Feet (81%), Chicken Feet (63%), and Vegetable Oil (41%), Onions (53%), Used Clothing (41%) and Mosquito coil (65%) among others.
The President has therefore mandated the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to urgently implement a concurrent and proportionate reduction in the prices of the effected commodities in other to bring relief to the poor masses.
He warned that any business engaging in price hike and profiteering in the wake of the tariff reduction will bear the full weight of the law.
Meanwhile, the Government of Liberia says the new tariff regime as approved by the president meets all requirements of the law including section I, II and IV of the Act to Amend the Act to ratify the ECOWAS Common External Tariff which was pass into law on December 14, 2017 and are fully within the parameters of the ECOWAS Common Tariff (CET) Regime.
Recently President Weah issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Liberia Revenue Authority to reduce high tariff on some commodities imported in the country.
