Following the worsening of Tunisia’s trade deficit and as a precautionary measure against the continued decline in foreign currency assets, the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) has sent a notice to all the banks in the market informing them of the new measure taken by the issuing institution relating to the opening of letters of credit for the import of non-essential consumer products or deemed to be non-priority items.
From now on, banks can no longer open a letter of credit for the import of these products unless the economic operator (importer) first provides a deposit (his own funds) covering the entire value of the imported goods.
