The amendment of the free trade agreement signed by Tunisia and Turkey helped increase Tunisian exports (+7.3%) and cut imports (-5%) in the first fourth months of 2024, said Head of Cooperation with Europe at the Trade and Export Development Ministry Nabil Arfaoui.

Arfaoui further told TAP in an interview conducted at its TV Studio the ministry will appraise the amendment at the end of the year; this step will not be a solution to balance foreign trade.

The free trade agreement unexpectedly widened the deficit which required its revision, mainly through the increase in customs duties on some imported goods from Turkey.

Under the Finance Law 2024, Tunisia raised customs duties on several industrial products. The move helped reduce imports and improve the trade deficit. An assessment will be conducted at year end.

Tariff increases are not the solution, Arfaoui said. It is rather crucial to boost Tunisian exports to Turkey, particularly considering the quality of Tunisian products.

New avenues of cooperation are also sought, in addition to encouraging Turkish investments and promoting the Tunisia destination, the official further said. The number of Turkish visitors in Tunisia reached 16,000 last year.

Deficit with Turkey eased over the last four months to TND 951 million against TND 1,029.0 million during the same period in 2022.

Answering a question about the importance of this free trade agreement as part of regional agreements signed by Tunisia, Arfaoui said the accord was inked in 2005 in response to technical factors in relation to increasing Tunisian exports to Europe.

Export to the European market requires that products respond to appellation of origin criteria and industrial complementarity, he added.

Tunisia imports industrial goods from Turkey, including textile and electronics, as well as inputs used in producing finished products and re-exported by Tunisia to the European Union.

The signing of this agreement with Turkey helped Tunisia export products - in textile or manufacturing industries - which meet the criteria of the appellation of origin.

The first Tunisian-Turkish Business Forum is slated to be held on June 5 in Istanbul. This is one of the main agreements under the amendment of the free trade agreement.

© Tap 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).