As President-elect Donald Trump announces that he plans to take the USA out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement as soon as he takes office, the EU is moving in the opposite direction – looking to widen its arrangements with trade partners.
It already has what is known as a Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement with Tunisia, that has been in force since 1998, but now it is considering replacing this with a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).
Before going any further down this road, however, the European Commission has invited traders and other businesses to submit comments on its plans.
Through aquestionnaire, it invites detailed views on the trade, investment and broader economic relationship between the EU and Tunisia.
“We are also specifically interested in practical experience in doing business with and in Tunisia,” the Commission explained, “so some questions are more technical.”
The existing Association Agreement already includes a Free Trade Area dismantling custom duties for industrial products and partially liberalising trade in agricultural and fisheries products.
The purpose of the DCFTA is to increase market access opportunities for both sides and to improve the business environment in Tunisia by supporting its economic reforms. Besides further liberalisation of trade in agricultural and fisheries products, it also aims to liberalise trade in services and investment.
The deadline for submitting comments is 22 February 2017.
