RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/REG69/2
17 June 1999
(99-2444)
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Original:  English/
French
EURO-MEDITERRANEAN AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THEIR
MEMBER STATES AND TUNISIA
Communication from the Parties
The following communication has been received from the Delegation of the European
Communities with the request that it be circulated to Members.
_______________
I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AGREEMENT
1. Membership and Dates of Signature, Ratification and Entry into Force
The Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European
Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Tunisia, of the other part,
was signed on 17 July 1995 and entered into force on 1 March 1998.
2. Type of Agreement
The Agreement establishes an association between the parties.  It establishes a free-trade area
over a transitional period lasting a maximum of 12 y ears starting from the date of entry into force of
the Agreement.
The objectives of the Agreement are: to establish the conditions for the gradual liberalisation
of trade in goods, services and capital; to develop trade between the parties; to promote economic,
social, cultural and financial co-operation.
3. Scope
Industrial, agricultural and fisheries products: the Agreement covers all chapters of the
Harmonised System (1-97)
4. Trade Data
EU imports from Tunisia in 1997 amounted to 3,517 million ECU.  EU exports to Tunisia
amounted to 4,644 million ECU.  Products other than agricultural or food products constitute the most
substantial share of trade and represent more than 90 per cent of total trade (see annexed statistical
data).WT/REG69/2
Page 2
II. TRADE PROVISIONS
1. Import Restrictions
1.1 Duties and charges
Industrial products originating in Tunisia are imported into the Community free of customs
duties and charges having equivalent effect and without quantitative restrictions or measures having
equivalent effect.
Customs duties and charges having equivalent effect applicable on import into Tunisia of
products originating in the Community other than those listed in Annexes 3 to 6 are abolished on
entry into force of the Agreement.
Customs duties and charges having equivalent effect applicable on import into Tunisia of
products originating in the Community listed in Annex 3 are eliminated progressively over a period of
five years from entry into force of the Agreement, Tunisia having decided to apply the provisions ofthe free trade agreement from 1/1/97.
Customs duties and charges having equivalent effect applicable on import into Tunisia of
products originating in the Community listed in Annex 4 are eliminated progressively over a period of
twelve years from entry into force of the Agreement.
Customs duties and charges having equivalent effect applicable on import into Tunisia of
products originating in the Community listed in Annex 5 are eliminated progressively over a period of
eight years beginning four years after entry into force of the Agreement.
The progressive elimination of customs duties and charges having equivalent effect does not
apply to products listed in Annex 6.  The arrangements to be applied to these products shall be
re-examined by the Association Council four years after the entry into force of the Agreement.
1.2 Quantitative restrictionsQuantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect between Tunisia and the
EC are eliminated from entry into force of the Agreement.
1.3 Common external tariffThe Agreement does not include any provision for the establishment of a common external
tariff.
2. Export Restrictions
The EC and Tunisia do not apply any quantitative restrictions or measures having equivalent
effect, or duties or measures having equivalent effect on exports.
3. Rules of Origin
The definition of the concept of “originating products” is set out in Title II of Protocol
Number 4 of the Agreement.
Evidence of the originating status of products is furnished by the EUR.1 movement
certificate.WT/REG69/2
Page 3
The concepts of bilateral cumulation, cumulation with materials originating in Algeria or
Morocco, cumulation of working or processing carried out in the Community, Algeria, Morocco and
Tunisia are treated in Articles 2, 3 and 4 respectiv ely of Title II of Prot ocol Number 4 of the
Agreement.
4. Standards
The Agreement provides that the parties take appropriate steps to promote the use by Tunisia
of Community technical rules and European standards for industrial and agri-food products and
certification procedures.
Tunisia has opted for harmonisation of standards at the international level and for mutual
recognition of national systems of certification.
Tunisia has implemented a certification system based on ISO 9000 standards and a system of
accreditation of conformity assessment bodies on the basis of international and European standards inthis area.
5. Safeguards
5.1 Exception measures of limited duration which derogate from the tariff elimination schedule
may be taken by Tunisia in the form of an increase or reintroduction of customs duties.  These
measures may only concern infant industries or certain sectors undergoing restructuring or facing
serious difficulties, particularly where these difficulties produce major social problems.
These measures shall be applied for a period not exceeding five years unless a longer duration
is authorised by the Association Committee.  They shall cease to apply at the latest on the expiry of
the maximum transitional period of 12 years.
5.2 The EC or Tunisia may take appropriate measures, where the increase in imports of a product
occurs in such quantities and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause:
- serious injury to domestic producers of like or directly competitive products in the
territory of one of the parties or
- serious disturbances in any sector of the economy or difficulties which could bring
about serious deterioration in the economic situation of a region.
5.3 In the case of serious balance of payment difficulties, Member States of the EU or Tunisia
may adopt for a limited period restrictions on curr ent transactions, which may not go beyond what is
strictly necessary to remedy the balance of payments situation.
6. Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures
If one of the parties finds that dumping is taking place in its trade with the other party, the EC
or Tunisia may take appropriate measures in accordance with Article VI of GATT, its related internal
legislation and respecting the information procedures established by the Agreement.
7. Subsidies and State-Aid
Any official aid which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain
undertakings or the production of certain goods is incompatible except for derogations authorised byWT/REG69/2
Page 4
virtue of the ECSC Treaty.  In this regard, Tunisi a is exceptionally authorised during the five years
after the entry into force of the Agreement to gr ant state aid for restructuring purposes in the steel
sector.
During this same period any state aid granted by Tunisia is assessed taking into account the
fact that Tunisia is regarded as an area identical to those areas of the Community benefiting from aid
for development.
The Member States and Tunisia shall progressively adjust, without affecting commitments
made under GATT, any state monopolies of a commercial character so as to ensure that, by the end of
the fifth year following the entry into force of th e Agreement, no discrimination exists regarding the
conditions under which goods are procured and marketed between nationals of the Member States andof Tunisia.
8. Sector-Specific Provisions
8.1 TextilesThere are no specific provisions for textiles products.8.2 Agricultural and fisheries products
(a) Agricultural and fishery products originating in Tunisia benefit on import into the EC from
the provisions set out in Protocols Numbers 1 and 2.
For more than 120 products (notably fruit and vegetables) originating in Tunisia customs
duties are eliminated or reduced.  For products where the customs tariff foresees theapplication of an ad valorem  duty, rates of reduction apply only to the ad valorem  duty.  For
certain products, customs duties are eliminated within the limits of tariff quotas or in the
framework of reference quantities.
For about 30 fish, crustacean or mollusc products originating in Tunisia, customs duties are
eliminated on imports into the Community.
(b) Agricultural products originating in the Comm unity benefit on import into Tunisia from the
provisions set out in Protocol Number 3.
Tunisia applies reduced customs duties to the Community for about 40 products within the
limits of tariff quotas.
(c) From 1 January 2000 the Community and Tunisia will assess the situation of their trade in
agricultural and fisheries products with a view to determining the liberalisation measures to
be applied by the Community and Tunisia with effect from 1 January 2001.
8.3 Processed agricultural products
The provisions on free movement of goods do not preclude the retention by the Community
of an agricultural component on imports of certain processed agricultural products originating in
Tunisia.  Similarly, Tunisia may specify a separate agricultural component in the import duties inforce on the import of certain processed agricultural products originating in the Community.WT/REG69/2
Page 5
III. GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT
1. Exceptions and Reservations
The Agreement does not preclude prohibitions or restrictions on imports, exports or goods in
transit justified on grounds of public morality, public policy, public security, the protection of health
and life of humans, animals or plants, the protection of national treasures of artistic, historic or
archaeological value or the protection of intellectual and commercial property or rules relating to gold
and silver.
A contracting party may take measures it considers necessary for its security and defence, in
the event of serious internal disturbances, in time of war or serious international tension.
2. Dispute Settlement Procedures
Either party may refer to the Association Council any dispute relating to the application or
interpretation of the Agreement: differences are settled by means of a decision.
In the contrary case, either party may notify th e appointment of an arbitrator to the other
party, which must then appoint a s econd arbitrator within two months.
The Association Council shall appoint a third arbitrator.  The arbitrators’ decisions are taken
by majority vote.
3. Duration
The Agreement is concluded for an unlimited period.  Either party may denounce the
Agreement by notifying the other party.  Six m onths after such notification the Agreement would
cease to apply.
4. Previous Agreements
From its entry into force, the Association Agreement replaced the Co-operation Agreement
between the European Community and the Tunisian Republic signed on 25 April 1976.
5. Relation with other Trade Agreements
(i) The Agreement does not preclude the maintenance or establishment of customs
unions, free trade areas or arrangements for frontier trade insofar as they do not havethe effect of altering the trade arrangements provided for in the Agreement.
(ii) If Tunisia concludes agreements with other Mediterranean countries with a view to
establishing free trade, the EU is ready to envisage cumulation of origin in its trade
with these countries.
(iii) Tunisia requests that its interests are taken into account if concessions and advantages
are granted to other Mediterranean third countries in the framework of future
agreements which are concluded between these countries and the European Union.
6. Provisions on Right of Establishment and Services
The parties agree to widen the scope of the Agreement to cover the right of establishment of
one party’s firms on the territory of the other and liberalisation of the provision of services by oneWT/REG69/2
Page 6
party’s firms to consumers of services in the other, taking account of their respective obligations
under the GATS.
7. Co-operation
The Agreement is not limited to the establishment of a free-trade area but also establishes a
partnership between the two parties with the objec tive of supporting Tunisia’s own efforts to achieve
sustainable economic and social development.  This co-operation is targeted at areas of activity
affected by the process of liberalising Tunisia’s economy and more particularly by the liberalisation
of trade between Tunisia and the European Community.
This co-operation involves economic co-operation in a broad sense covering a large number
of areas, social co-operation concerning Tunisian workers, cultural co-operation as well as financial
co-operation implemented particularly in the framework of the MEDA programme.
8. Institutional Provisions
An Association Council, at Ministerial level, examines any significant problems arising in the
framework of the Agreement; an Association Committee is responsible for management of the
AgreementWT/REG69/2
Page 7EU TRADE 1994-97 BY HS SECTION WITH EXTRA-EC
(Million ECU)
EU Imports EU Exports EU Trade Balance Total Trade (Imports + Exports) HS Section
1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997
I.  animals & animal
products10,178 10,225 10,754 11,999 8,929 9,654 9,768 10,567 -1,249 -571 -986 -1,432 19,107 19,879 20,522 22,567
II.  vegetable
products20,033 22,918 22,875 24,982 8,405 7,916 8,316 9,336 -11,628 -15,002 -14,559 -15,645 28,438 30,834 31,191 34,318
II.  animal or
vegetable fats2,033 2,298 1,889 1,863 1,632 2,098 1,906 2,248 -401 -200 17 385 3,665 4,396 3,795 4,111
IV. prepared
foodstuffs16,123 15,674 17,838 18,113 18,659 18,159 19,375 22,176 2,536 2,485 1,537 4,062 34,782 33,833 37,213 40,289
V.  mineral products 71,930 73,140 84,571 93,796 17,564 14,536 16,397 18,556 -54,366 -58,604 -68,174 -75,240 89,494 87,676 100,968 112,352
VI.  chemical
products31,708 34,171 36,157 42,004 53,172 53,663 60,036 71,890 21,464 19,492 23,879 29,886 84,880 87,834 96,193 113,894
VII.  plastics &
rubber15,071 16,292 16,323 18,340 19,899 19,771 21,326 25,655 4,828 3,479 5,003 7,315 34,970 36,063 37,649 43,995
VIII.  hides & skins 7,013 7,069 7,358 8,211 5,356 5,707 6,720 6,913 -1,657 -1,362 -638 -1,298 12,369 12,776 14,078 15,124
IX.  wood & wood
products13,224 9,878 9,094 10,933 2,535 3,680 3,992 4,865 -10,689 -6,198 -5,102 -6,068 15,759 13,558 13,086 15,797
X.  wood pulp
products20,302 12,498 10,924 11,735 12,155 17,522 17,629 19,489 -8,147 5,024 6,705 7,754 32,457 30,020 28,553 31,223
XI.  textiles &
textile articles38,677 38,525 40,262 47,845 25,120 23,549 25,554 28,807 -13,557 -14,976 -14,708 -19,038 63,797 62,074 65,816 76,652
XII.   footwear,
headgear5,916 5,879 6,529 7,690 5,311 5,004 5,610 5,937 -605 -875 -919 -1,753 11,227 10,883 12,139 13,627
XIII.  articles of
stone, plaster,
cement,4,240 4,111 4,206 4,843 9,674 9,925 10,724 12,291 5,434 5,814 6,518 7,448 13,914 14,036 14,930 17,135
XIV.  pearls, semi-
precious stones,
metals19,391 19,889 20,890 23,131 15,046 14,896 16,308 18,644 -4,345 -4,993 -4,582 -4,486 34,437 34,785 37,198 41,775
X V .   b a s e  m e t a l s  &
articles thereof32,740 35,639 31,718 37,505 35,311 35,508 38,199 42,756 2,571 -131 6,481 5,252 68,051 71,147 69,917 80,261
XVI.  machinery &
mechanicalapplicances106,915 111,807 119,672 142,434 131,404 146,564 165,160 191,381 24,489 34,757 45,488 48,946 238,319 258,371 284,832 333,815WT/REG69/2
Page 8EU Imports EU Exports EU Trade Balance Total Trade (Imports + Exports) HS Section
1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997
XVII.
transportation
equipment33,963 30,987 34,348 46,030 44,933 48,476 53,548 66,232 10,970 17,489 19,200 20,203 78,896 79,463 87,896 112,262
XVIII. instruments–
measuring, musical18,523 19,654 21,201 24,240 17,863 18,696 20,418 23,9 7 -660 -958 -783 -263 36,386 38,350 41,619 48,217
XIX.  arms &
ammunition355 382 397 533 740 774 1,020 1,252 385 392 623 719 1,095 1,156 1,417 1,785
XX.   miscellaneous 12,511 12,640 13,913 17,074 11,369 11,968 12,836 14,577 -1,142 -672 -1,077 -2,497 23,880 24,608 26,749 31,652
XXI.   works of art 2,061 1,538 1,236 1,682 2,361 2,381 2,205 2,817 300 843 969 1,136 4,422 3,919 3,441 4,499
Other 7,312 7,043 11,199 9,349 6,638 7,088 7,194 7,808 -674 45 -4,005 -1,541 13,950 14,131 18,393 17,157
Total 490,219 492,257 523,354 604,331 454,076 477,535 524,241 608,175 -36,143 -14,722 887 3,844 944,295 969,792 1,047,595 1,212,507
Source : Eurostat COMEXT (1994 : EU12;  1995-97 : EU15).WT/REG69/2
Page 9EU TRADE 1994-97 BY HS SECTION WITH TUNISIA
(Million ECU)
EU imports EU Exports EU Trade Balance Total Trade (Imports + Exports ) HS Section
1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997 1994 1995 1996 1997
I.  animals & animal
products57 54 65 81 40 45 23 46 -17 -9 -42 -35 97 99 88 127
II.   vegetable products 62 59 51 60 90 110 41 116 28 51 -10 56 152 169 92 176
III.  animal or vegetable
fats99 142 93 86 24 73 51 63 -75 -69 -42 -23 123 215 144 150
I V .   p r e p a r e d  f o o d s t u f f s 81 01 61 85 68 66 37 34 87 64 75 56 49 67 99 1
V.  mineral products 280 270 415 400 166 127 142 212 -114 -143 -273 -188 446 397 557 612
VI.  chemical products 189 207 220 211 252 272 264 322 63 65 44 111 441 479 484 532
V I I .   p l a s t i c s  &  r u b b e r 9878 1 2 8 1 4 9 1 4 4 1 7 4 1 1 9 1 4 1 1 3 7 1 6 6 1 3 7 1 5 7 1 5 1 1 8 3
V I I I .   h i d e s  &  s k i n s 2 43 33 73 55 46 78 49 73 03 44 76 27 8 1 0 0 1 2 1 1 3 2
IX.  wood & wood
products4356 1 1 4 6 4 2 5 57 4 3 3 7 4 9 1 5 4 9 4 7 6 0
X.   wood pulp products 8 11 13 16 68 88 80 92 60 77 67 76 76 99 93 108
XI.  textiles & textile
articles1,393 1,625 1,748 1,871 890 1,059 1,129 1,300 -503 -566 -619 -571 2,283 2,684 2,877 3,171
XII.  footwear, headgear 126 150 175 200 29 34 39 39 -97 -116 -136 -161 155 184 214 239
XIII.  articles of stone,
plaster, cement,91 21 01 33 23 93 94 12 32 72 92 84 15 14 95 3
XIV.  pearls, semi precious
stones, metals568788 1 2 1 03243 1 3 1 4 2 0 1 7
XV.  base metals & articles
thereof20 27 35 46 190 233 238 270 170 206 203 223 210 260 273 316
XVI.  machinery &
mechanical applicances223 260 282 386 806 779 936 1,097 583 519 654 712 1,029 1,039 1,218 1,483
XVII.  transportation
equipment10 17 19 20 233 281 291 406 223 264 272 386 243 298 310 426
XVIII.  instruments –
measuring, musical11 11 15 20 75 74 83 97 64 63 68 77 86 85 98 116
X I X .   a r m s  &  a m m u n i t i o n 111111
X X   -   m i s c e l l a n e o u s 1 92 02 32 65 25 65 36 53 33 63 04 07 17 67 69 1
XXI  -  works of art 1 1 1
O t h e r 91 01 3 83 22 23 96 82 31 22 66 04 13 25 27 7
Total 2,565 2,935 3,250 3,517 3,236 3,649 3,793 4,644 671 714 543 1,127 5,801 6,584 7,043 8,161
Source : Eurostat COMEXT (1994:  EU12 ;  1995-97:  EU15)WT/REG69/2
Page 10
EC-TUNISIA:  ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT
Trade Data
Note: The following tables show the development of trade between the EC and Tunisia over the
period 1994-97.  For ease of comparison, figures are also given for the development of EC
trade with all third countries.
Table 1
Share of Tunisia in Total EU Trade 1994-97 (Billion ECU)
Extra-EU Tunisia Year
Exports Imports Total Exports Imports Total
1994 453.5 489.6 943.1 3.2 2.6 5.8
1995 476.8 491.8 968.6 3.6 2.9 6.5
1996 523.5 522.8 1,046.3 3.8 3.3 7.1
1997 608.2 604.3 1.212-5 4.6 3.5 8.1
Table II
Share of Tunisia in Total EU Trade 1994-97 (Percentage)
Extra-EU Tunisia Year
Exports Imports Total Exports Imports Total
1994 48.09 51.91 100.00 0.34 0.28 0.61
1995 49.23 50.77 100.00 0.37 0.30 0.67
1996 50.03 49.97 100.00 0.36 0.32 0.68
1997 50.16 49.84 100.00 0.38 0.29 0.67
Source:  Eurostat COMEXT.
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