Rubber latex is bled from a tree at a rubber farm in Grand Bassa County, on March 14, 2026. Rubber is among Liberia's main cash crops, but experts say the poor west African nation is shortchanged when tyres and other rubber goods are only manufactured abroad. Estimates place the number of smallholder households that grow rubber trees in Liberia at 35,000, and the number of people working at commercial rubber farms at 20,000, according to a US International Trade Administration document last updated in 2024. While there is no official estimate of the financial loss from the absence of tyre manufacturing, Gould said "the economic opportunity cost is considerable". (Photo by MATTHEW JACOBS / AFP via Getty Images)

A general view of a rubber farm in Grand Bassa County, on March 14, 2026. Rubber is among Liberia's main cash crops, but experts say the poor west African nation is shortchanged when tyres and other rubber goods are only manufactured abroad. Estimates place the number of smallholder households that grow rubber trees in Liberia at 35,000, and the number of people working at commercial rubber farms at 20,000, according to a US International Trade Administration document last updated in 2024. While there is no official estimate of the financial loss from the absence of tyre manufacturing, Gould said "the economic opportunity cost is considerable". (Photo by MATTHEW JACOBS / AFP via Getty Images)

Mory Soumaoro fixes a tyre at his workshop in Montserrado County, on March 7, 2026. Rubber is among Liberia's main cash crops, but experts say the poor west African nation is shortchanged when tyres and other rubber goods are only manufactured abroad. The majority of Liberians drive on cheap, used tyres, imported from places like Europe, America and China. Repairing and reselling the poor-quality tyres has become a profitable business, and makeshift shops are ubiquitous. (Photo by MATTHEW JACOBS / AFP via Getty Images)

Mory Soumaoro fixes a tyre at his workshop in Montserrado County, on March 7, 2026. Rubber is among Liberia's main cash crops, but experts say the poor west African nation is shortchanged when tyres and other rubber goods are only manufactured abroad. The majority of Liberians drive on cheap, used tyres, imported from places like Europe, America and China. Repairing and reselling the poor-quality tyres has become a profitable business, and makeshift shops are ubiquitous. (Photo by MATTHEW JACOBS / AFP via Getty Images)

Liberian farmer John Wragbo collects latex rubber from a tree at his rubber farm in Grand Bassa County, on March 14, 2026. Rubber is among Liberia's main cash crops, but experts say the poor west African nation is shortchanged when tyres and other rubber goods are only manufactured abroad. Estimates place the number of smallholder households that grow rubber trees in Liberia at 35,000, and the number of people working at commercial rubber farms at 20,000, according to a US International Trade Administration document last updated in 2024. While there is no official estimate of the financial loss from the absence of tyre manufacturing, Gould said "the economic opportunity cost is considerable". (Photo by MATTHEW JACOBS / AFP via Getty Images)

Liberian farmer Daniel B. Somah bleeds a tree to harvest latex rubber at his rubber farm in Grand Bassa County, on March 14, 2026. Rubber is among Liberia's main cash crops, but experts say the poor west African nation is shortchanged when tyres and other rubber goods are only manufactured abroad. Estimates place the number of smallholder households that grow rubber trees in Liberia at 35,000, and the number of people working at commercial rubber farms at 20,000, according to a US International Trade Administration document last updated in 2024. While there is no official estimate of the financial loss from the absence of tyre manufacturing, Gould said "the economic opportunity cost is considerable". (Photo by MATTHEW JACOBS / AFP via Getty Images)

Liberian farmer John Wragbo collects latex rubber from a tree at his rubber farm in Grand Bassa County, on March 14, 2026. Rubber is among Liberia's main cash crops, but experts say the poor west African nation is shortchanged when tyres and other rubber goods are only manufactured abroad. Estimates place the number of smallholder households that grow rubber trees in Liberia at 35,000, and the number of people working at commercial rubber farms at 20,000, according to a US International Trade Administration document last updated in 2024. While there is no official estimate of the financial loss from the absence of tyre manufacturing, Gould said "the economic opportunity cost is considerable". (Photo by MATTHEW JACOBS / AFP via Getty Images)

A general view of a punctured car tyre at Mory Soumaoro's workshop in Montserrado County, on March 7, 2026. Rubber is among Liberia's main cash crops, but experts say the poor west African nation is shortchanged when tyres and other rubber goods are only manufactured abroad. The majority of Liberians drive on cheap, used tyres, imported from places like Europe, America and China. Repairing and reselling the poor-quality tyres has become a profitable business, and makeshift shops are ubiquitous. (Photo by MATTHEW JACOBS / AFP via Getty Images)