The file on the ratification of free trade agreements between Tunisia and other partners, including the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), is currently at the Prime Ministry.
It will then be examined for approval by the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP), said Nabil Arfaoui, director of cooperation with Europe at the Ministry of Trade.
Since 2012, all countries have decided to replace the protocols of origin resulting from bilateral agreements with a reference to a common protocol of origin, namely the regional convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin, the “PEM Convention”, he added at a conference organized in Tunis on “the new rules of origin in Tunisia”.
The PEM zone is a system of free trade agreements between several parties in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, applying common and identical rules of origin.
Pending the ratification of bilateral agreements between the parties, the 2012 rules of origin will apply until December 2025.
Indeed, the rules of origin apply to products that meet one of the following conditions: wholly obtained products (products in their natural state of animal, vegetable or mineral kingdom, including no imported inputs) and products obtained after sufficient working or processing (the imported inputs used must meet certain conditions), according to specific rules.
At the Mediterranean level, Arfaoui reported that Tunisia is currently negotiating free trade agreements with several members of the Euro-Mediterranean process in order to benefit from the pan-Euromed system of rules of origin.
He also pointed out that Tunisia and the European Union (EU) have agreed to apply, from March 1, 2025, the revised preferential rules of origin negotiated within the framework of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM).
The aim of these rules is to introduce more flexible provisions than those of the 2012 PEM Convention in order to make it easier to obtain “originating” status for goods exported to the EU, which will then benefit from duty exemptions under the EU-Tunisia Association Agreement.
These revised rules apply to all products covered by the Association Agreement and also provide for additional flexibilities (“derogations”).
New processing rules have also been introduced for these products, in particular for fabrics, which will make it easier to obtain originating status.
These new rules will allow more Tunisian products to benefit from easier access to the European market,” says Thierry Beranger, head of the trade section at the European Union delegation in Tunis.
Tunisian exports to the EU are essentially governed by association agreements that have been in place for 30 years.
He added that the European market remains a market of great potential for Tunisia, noting that 70% of Tunisian products are exported to the EU.
The conference on “New Rules of Origin in Tunisia” was organized at the initiative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as part of the EU-funded Insadder program.
