MONROVIA, Liberia (Feb. 25, 2008) — Bridgestone/Firestone and the government of Liberia have signed an amended rubber concession agreement that will run until 2041, the tire maker announced.
BFS had renegotiated the agreement in 2005, but Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf asked for new discussions after she took office in January 2006.
According to BFS, the company has agreed to increase the income tax it pays to the Liberian government to 30 percent, up from 25; to finish construction of a rubber wood factory that will create at least 500 jobs; to continue replanting of rubber trees and undertake new social and educational projects; and to follow new transfer pricing provisions for dry rubber and latex based on international indices.
The new pact will increase the Liberian government's revenues by nearly $2.5 million, according to BFS. The company and predecessor Firestone has operated a 240-sq.-mile rubber plantation near Harbel, Liberia, since Harvey Firestone signed the original agreement in 1926.