Liberia: President Boakai Issues Executive Order Banning Export of Unprocessed Natural Rubber to Boost Local Manufacturing

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The Executive Order forms part of the Boakai Administration’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development and is intended to stimulate domestic industrialization, create jobs, increase government revenue, and strengthen Liberia’s value-added manufacturing sector.

The Order notes that the continued export of raw natural rubber has deprived Liberia of significant downstream manufacturing opportunities, industrial employment, expanded tax revenues, and improved foreign exchange earnings. It further acknowledges that previous efforts to regulate the export of unprocessed rubber were undermined by widespread abuse, necessitating stronger executive action.

Under the Executive Order, the export of unprocessed natural rubber, including natural latex, coagulum, cup lump, tree lace, bark scrap, ground scrap, and other forms of raw rubber, is prohibited for an indefinite period. 

However, processed rubber products such as latex concentrate, Technically Specified Rubber (TSR), ribbed smoked sheets, crepe rubber, and other internationally recognized processed rubber products remain eligible for export.

The Order provides for strict enforcement measures against violators, including the immediate seizure and forfeiture of illegally exported goods, administrative fines of up to US$100,000 for corporations and US$50,000 for smallholder farmers for first offenses, permanent revocation of export privileges for repeat offenders, and criminal prosecution under Liberian law. Shipping companies and agents found complicit in the illegal export of unprocessed rubber will also face sanctions.

To ensure effective implementation, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the Liberia Revenue Authority, and the Rubber Development Fund have been directed to jointly enforce the ban. Customs authorities, port officials, and law enforcement agencies have also been instructed to inspect, detain, and confiscate any shipment of unprocessed rubber intended for export.

Within thirty days, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and relevant stakeholders, is required to establish regulations that improve domestic market access for rubber farmers, particularly those in remote communities who have traditionally depended on cross-border trade in raw rubber.

As part of broader industrial support measures, the Government will prioritize incentives for domestic rubber processing industries through tax relief, concessional financing, infrastructure support, and policies aimed at expanding manufacturing into finished rubber products such as tires, gloves, footwear, adhesives, and other value-added products.

The Executive Order takes effect on July 1, 2026, and shall remain in force until repealed or amended by an Act of the Legislature. It will be reviewed annually to assess its impact on Liberia’s industrial development and the rubber sector.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Liberia: Executive Mansion.