Chakib Ben Mustapha, a member of the Union of Small and Medium Industries (UPMI), said the organization has been working for several years to improve Tunisia’s business climate in general, with particular focus on the Sfax region.
He noted that exports have been identified as a priority area of work for the current year.
Speaking to Express FM on Friday, June 19, Ben Mustapha said efforts are focused on developing and improving the export system.
He referred to a recent meeting between the Union and the Ministry of Trade dedicated to reviewing the main difficulties facing the sector and identifying priority issues requiring action.
He explained that the Union has identified four main areas of work: transport and logistics, export financing, non-tariff barriers and the tax framework.
These workshops resulted in 120 recommendations that will be monitored over the coming months.
Among the key recommendations for 2026, Ben Mustapha called for the repeal of Article 52 of the 2022 Finance Law, which ended the VAT suspension regime for international trading companies and fully exporting service companies on their purchases.
According to him, the measure could negatively affect the competitiveness of Tunisian exports at a time when the country needs to strengthen its presence in foreign markets and expand into new outlets.
He added that discussions will also focus on other export taxation issues, as well as preparations for the future extension of the carbon tax to a wider range of products.
In this regard, he called for greater investment by industrial companies in self-generation of electricity and for consideration to be given to increasing the quantities of electricity that can be resold to the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG).
