The Monetary Board has raised the commission rate charged by Customs on imports to 10%, from its previous rate of 4.75%. This is the latest attempt by the authorities to procure sufficient resources to make the agreement with the International Monetary Fund viable. The Monetary Board says that Customs’ new rate is a temporary measure that would be lifted in February 2004 or “as soon as it can be done without creating a negative impact on macro-economic stability.” In a communique issued yesterday, the Central Bank said that negotiations with the IMF aimed at putting the economic stabilization plan into action would begin once the study on the fiscal impact of the re-acquisition of the electricity distribution companies by the government has been completed. The Central Bank called on the civic society, directing its comments at the business sector and trade unions, to “find, in collaboration with the government and Congress, alternatives for income generation within the framework of the IMF agreement.” The message warns that “the only – or least traumatic – way of re-igniting economic growth and achieving a reduction and stabilization of prices and in the exchange rate, is to comply with the program designed by the government and approved by the IMF.”