Tunisia is relatively a liberal economy, it joined the World Trade Organization when it was established in 1995 and it was the first country in the region to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU). In Addition to the strong manufacturing base focusing on high value-added industrial sectors, Tunisia has an export-oriented services sectors benefiting from the highly educated and skilled human resources.

Tunisia is geographically attractive to international trade and foreign direct investment. It is located at the junction of the eastern and western Mediterranean basin, shares its borders with Algeria in the east and Libya in the East, and is characterized by its proximity to Europe and its openness to the markets of sub-Saharan Africa.

Tunisia has:

• 9 international airports serving nearly 50 global cities
• 7 commercial ports and an oil terminal
• A railway network  of more than 2000 km covering allthe regions of Tunisia
• A road network of about 20,000 km, and more than 640 km of motorways spread throughout the territory, linking the main urban centres and potential development sites
• Trade facilitation is evolving rapidly, notably through the "Tunisie Trade Net" (TTN) network, which aims to automate workflows and optimizedecision-making processes.
• Telecommunication infrastructure: According to Internet World Stats, Tunisia is among the 10 most connected countries in Africa with a penetration rate of 68.4% for 2020.
• Opportunity: The imination of operation of the Trans-Saharan Highway (RTS) linking six African countries namely Tunisia, Algeria, Mali, Niger, Chad and Nigeria. It is a road network of 9022 km, which aims at a better socio-economic integration of the 6 countries crossed having all ratified the AfCFTA, the opening of a new vital corridor for all West African countries on the ports of the Mediterranean (read more).

The road infrastructure includes, in addition to the municipal roads, a classified state network and a rural network.

The classified network includes a motorway section of length 360 Km, and totals a linear of about 19750 Km of roads, paved up to 12750 Km (nearly 65%) and equipped with nearly 2100 structures and drainage devices including: 765 bridges with a unit span greater than 10m and 343 bridges with a unit span greater than 30m.

The classified road network is distributed as follows:

• National roads : 3938 km
• Regional roads: 5117 km
• Local roads: 2453 km
• Roads under classification: 1242 Km

As for the network of tracks of rural interest, whose management is under the aegis of the Ministry of Equipment, it develops over a length of about 13,000 km.

Source: Website of the Ministry of Equipment, Tunisia

Ports in Tunisia:

International airports:

Tunis-Carthage, Enfidha, Monastir, Djerba-Zarzis, Sfax-Thyna, Tozeur-Nefta, Tabarka-Ain Draham, Gafsa - Ksar and Gabès Matmata

• Price freedom as a general principle, prices are set by competition on the market (Law No. 2015-36 of September 15, 2015)
• In view of the state of competition and the sensitivity of products to the consumer, Tunisian regulations provide for two price regimes:

            - Approval: prior fixing by the administration of the level of prices or their variation)

            - Self-approval: fixing, at the distribution stage, of the selling prices by the company itself at cost price, at a margin rate fixed by decision of the Minister responsible for Trade.

• Commodity subsidy

            - In addition to fuel and public transport, the compensated commodities in Tunisia are: cereals and derivatives, vegetable oils, pasta and couscous, notebook paper and school book, sugar and semi-skimmed milk (which saw an increase in 2021).

            - It should be noted that in recent years, and more particularly after the Covid-19 health crisis, the overall compensation burden has become prohibitive (estimated at 7.3 billion dinar of the State budget for 2022, with an increase of 20% compared to 2021).

Commodities account for 52% of the total subsidy envelope for 2022, up 71.4% from the previous year.

Hence the calls of local economists, and international financial institutions mainly the IMF, for the revision of the generalized subsidy system via a mechanism of progressive targeting of the beneficiaries of compensation, accompanied by the liberalization of prices (application of the reality of prices).

• Inflation nevertheless fell in 2021, to 5.7% from 5.9% the previous year, according to World Bank data. The African Development Bank (AfDB) forecasts a further decline in inflation over the medium term to reach 4.3% in 2022, thanks to a monetary policy described as prudent.

May 2022: Policy rate appreciates upwards by 75 basis points to 7.0%, resulting in an increase in the rates on deposit and marginal lending facilities to 6.0% and 8.0%, respectively, justified by the rapid and broad-based acceleration of global inflation, which contrasts with a sluggish recovery in global growth,  weakened by the fallout from the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

Tunisia exports reached around 16.5 billion USD in 2021 registering significant growth, and imports reached around 21.8 billion USD in the same year. Tunisia`s main trading partner is the European Union (EU) with two thirds of Tunisian exports and half of imports come from the EU.

• The main export markets for Tunisian products are: France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Libya, Netherlands, USA, Belgium, UK, Morocco, Algeria, Turkiye, and Switzerland.
• The main export products are: Electrical machinery and equipment, Apparel and clothing, mineral fuels and oils, animal and vegetable fats and oils, measuring and medical devices, plastics, machinery and mechanical appliances, inorganic chemicals.
• The main countries where imports come from are: Italy, France, China, Germany, Turkiye, Spain, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Greece, USA, and Russia.
• The main imports are: mineral fuels and oils, electrical machinery and equipment, machinery and mechanical appliances, plastics, vehicles, cereals, iron and steel, cotton, and pharmaceuticals.

Source of data: Trademap (International Trade Centre)

• Freedom of import – export for products necessary for production carried out by totally exporting companies as well as imports by operators in economic activity parks.

• The import is made to an approved intermediary bank on the basis of a pro forma invoice.
• Exports on firm sale with payment of an amount exceeding TN200 D are carried out under cover of an invoice which must be domiciled with an authorized intermediary bank.

• Products excluded from the import-export freedom regime:
  • Without authorization by means of a direct debit of the import with an authorized intermediary bank,
  • Subject to authorization issued by the Ministry of Trade, valid for 12 months (with payment) and 6 months (without payment), and which allows the realization of split imports for all the products it covers.

Import/export applications are filed electronically within the TTN network with an approved intermediary who forwards them to the Ministry of Trade and Handicrafts.

• Mechanical, elctical and electronic industries: Tunisia provides an infrastructure that meets international standards while responding to the requirements of MEEI:a competitiveness cluster in Sousse, dedicated to the MEEI sector, and more particularly to mechatronics (55 ha), an off-shoring area specializing in services (48 ha) and a multisectoral industrial area (142ha),a training center for aerospace trades in El Mghira which also includes Technology Platforms in sectorial training centres, a Technical Center specializing in Electrical and Mechanical Industries (CETIME), a research center in microelectronics and nanotechnology, 4,500 engineers and senior technicians graduate every year,8 engineering schools, an engineering school specializing in mechatronics and electronics, 36 sectorial training centres in 14 governorates.
• Aerospace Industry: A wide range of highly specialized activities requiring a great expertise is efficiently conducted by subcontractors in Tunisia in the following fields : Engineering: software development, electronic components. The main players in this field are TELNET, AEROCONSEIL, ALTRAN, SOGECLAIR...Production: electrical systems and wiring, composite materials, casting and machining, precision sheet metal, aircraft assembly, plastic parts, surface treatment...The main players in this area are: STELIA, AD INDUSTRIE, AEROSTANREW, AGBI, ASTF, CORSE COMPOSITE, EUROCAST, HUTCHINSON, LACROIX ELECTRONICS, MAP, MECAHERS, SEGNERE, TECHNIPROTEC METAL, VIGNAL ARTRU, ZODIAC AEROSPACE. Services: engine repair, conversion and alteration, maintenance and other services. Companies are THALES, TUNISAIR TECHNICS, SITA, SABENA TECHNICS.
• Automotive Sector: Tunisia is the second exporter in Africa in this sector. Over the past decade, production and exports in the automotive industry have achieved an average annual growth of 12 %.The sector features: Over 260 companies 65 % of which are totally exporting, Over 130 foreign companies, over 80 000 jobs, more than € 2 billion of exported auto spare parts, and 40% integration rate.
• Agrobusiness and organic production: Tunisia has significantly strengthened its expertise in the field of organic farming. Indeed, with an area of organic farmland of about 500,000 hectares, an organic production volume of about 265,000 tons per year and about 80% of organic produce intended for export, Tunisia is the second exporter of organic produce in Africa.