WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG203/M/1 
4 May 2009 
 (09-2146) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
Fifty-third Session  
 
 
 
CONSIDERATION OF THE ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN  
TURKEY AND TUNISIA, GOODS 
 
Note on the Meeting of 20 April 2009  
 
Chairman: Mr D. Brauns (Germany) 
 
 
1. The meeting was convened in document WTO/AIR/3332/Rev.1, dated 1 April 2009. 
2. Under Agenda Item C.VII of its 53rd Session, the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
(hereinafter CRTA or the Committee) took up consid eration of the Association Agreement between 
Turkey and Tunisia, (goods) (hereinafter the Agreement).  
3. The Chairman  noted that the Agreement had entered into force on 1 July 2005 and had been 
notified to the WTO on 1 September 2005 unde r Article XXIV:7(a) of GATT 1994 and the 
Understanding on the Interpretati on of GATT Article XXIV as an Agreement establishing a free trade 
area (document WT/REG203/N/1).  The text of the Agreement, together with its Annexes, was 
available on the Parties' official websites.  Th e Factual Presentation on the goods aspects (document 
WT/REG203/3, dated 10 February 2009) had been  prepared by the Secretariat on its own 
responsibility in full consultation with the Parti es, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the 
Transparency Mechanism (TM) fo r Regional Trade Agreements (doc ument WT/L/671).  In addition, 
written questions and replies on the Agreement had been recently distributed in document 
WT/REG203/4, dated 14 April 2009.  He proposed to organize the consideration of the Agreement by 
asking first the Parties and then other Members to  give any general comments.  The Committee would 
then to turn to the specifics of  the Agreement using the Factual Presentation to guide the debate.  He 
proposed to go through the Factual Presentation by section and then through the questions and replies 
document. 
4. The representative of Turkey  thanked the Secretariat for its efforts during the preparation of 
the Factual Presentation, which provided comprehens ive information about th e Agreement.  Turkey 
supported the rules-based multilateral trading syst em under the WTO and strengthened WTO rules, 
disciplines and mechanisms on RTAs.  Turkey became a Party to the GATT in 1951 and was a 
founding Member of the WTO.  Given the rapid liber alization and expansion of global trade in the 
previous half-century, Turkey hoped that the ong oing multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO 
would further liberalize international trade by taking  into consideration the interests of the developing 
countries in the process.  On the other hand, regi onal liberalization initiatives, such as free trade 
agreements (FTAs), were proceeding in harmony  with multilateral ones and contributed to the 
strengthening of the multilateral trading system .  Turkey believed that FTAs provided many 
advantages to the countries involved, since such  agreements not only introduced market access 
opportunities but also encouraged parties to bene fit from comparative advantages and economies of 
scale.  The level of economic integration achieved by  regional initiatives stimulated diversification of 
trade by sector and region, cont ributed to competitiveness and increased foreign investments.  
Recognizing such benefits, Turkey historically had developed deeper trade links with the European WT/REG203/M/1 
Page 2  
 
  Union (EU) and eventually a customs union ha d been established in 1996.  The customs union 
required Turkey to align its commercial policy with that of the EU.  This covered the preferential 
trade arrangements of the EC, including bilateral preferential agreements.  Turkey had concluded 
23 FTAs with certain neighbouring and peripheral c ountries to date, though ten of those had been 
repealed due to the accession of the partner countri es to the EU during the enlargements of 2004 and 
2007.  The bulk of the existing FTAs had been negotiated within the framework of the 
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.  In this context,  the Agreement between the Parties had been signed 
in Tunis on 25 November 2004, and had entered into force on 1 July 2005.  
5. The Agreement aimed at the gr adual establishment of a free trade area for trade in goods 
between the Parties by 2014.  Under Protocol I of the Agreement, Turkey had abolished all duties on 
non-agricultural products originating in Tunisia upon the entry into force of the Agreement.  Tunisia 
was due to gradually abolish duties on non-agricu ltural products originating in Turkey over a 
transitional period of up to nine years from the entry into force of the Agreement.  Tunisia's  tariff 
elimination on the goods imported from Turkey was due  to be completed four years later than its 
concessions granted to the EU.  Protocol II to the Agreement covered preferential trade in agricultural 
products.  On selected products, lib eralization was on the basis of un limited tariff-rate quotas or tariff 
reduction/elimination.  Taking into account devel opments in bilateral agricultural trade and the 
consequences of the multilateral trade negotiations , the Parties would examine the possibility of 
granting each other further concessions on agricultura l products within the Joint Committee.  As a 
result of the Agreement, the Parties had liberalized 95% of bilateral trade in goods.  Under Protocol 
III, the Parties would apply harmonized preferential ru les of origin in the context of the System of 
Pan-Euro-Med cumulation of origin.  The Agreement also contained provisions on, inter alia , state 
monopolies, internal taxation, competition, public procurement, and protection of intellectual, 
industrial and commercial property rights, and coope ration between customs administrations.  Among 
the regulatory provisions of the Agreement, st andards, subsidies, safeguard, anti-dumping and 
countervailing measures were in conformity with the relevant WTO Agreements.  The Agreement 
also envisaged cooperation in industry, agriculture , services, small and medium-sized enterprises, 
trade development and investment promotion.  In  2008, Turkish investments in Tunisia had grown 
rapidly reaching US$161 million, an increase of 303% compared to 2007.  Bilateral trade also had 
sharply increased.  In 2005, Turkey's exports to Tu nisia were valued at US$294.7 million, an increase 
of 15% from 2004.  During 2006, 2007 and 2008, Turkey's exports had been recorded as US$324 million, US$530 million and US$778 million, respec tively.  The growth in Turkey's exports 
to Tunisia had been 63% and 47% in 2007 and 2008, respectively.  Turkey's imports from Tunisia had 
amounted to US$117 million in 2005, which had co rresponded to a 17% increase from the previous 
year.  During 2006, 2007 and 2008, Turkey's impor ts from Tunisia had amounted to US$150 million, 
US$230 million, and US$365 million dollars, respectiv ely, with growth at 28%, 53% and 59%, 
respectively.  Thus, the data on bilateral trade showed an increasing trend that stemmed from the 
Agreement, also contributing to the industrial a nd economic development of the Parties.  She noted 
that in the Factual Presentation, the FTA with Geor gia, signed on 21 November  2007 and entered into 
force on 1 November 2008, was missing in Table IV.1 on page 17.  To conclude, she stressed that the Agreement was important with respect to the Barcelona Process for the creation of a 
Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area, as well as a br eakthrough in bilateral trade relations between 
the Parties.  
6. The representative of Tunisia
 thanked the Secretariat for having prepared the Factual 
Presentation, Turkey for close collaboration in the process of consideration of the Agreement and  
Japan, Chinese Taipei and the United States for their questions.  He considered that the multilateral 
and bilateral integration processes were complement ary and mutually reinforcing, with the common 
objective of facilitating trade liberalization th rough the progressive reduction, and eventual 
elimination of obstacles to commerce.  He reaffirm ed Tunisia's commitment to ensure an appropriate 
interaction between the multilateral and bilateral/r egional liberalization process taking into account 
development needs and the objectives of liberalizati on and integration.  The Agreement concluded in  WT/REG203/M/1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  the context of Tunisia's policy of openness, expressed its desire to increase and diversify its economic 
and trade cooperation relations.  From 1 January 2009, duties on all products, including agricultural 
products, did not exceed 36%.  The Agreement had also improved investment flows and bilateral 
trade.  Tunisia's exports by value had more than doubled during 2004-2008.  Trade with Turkey had increased by 152.2% during the same period, with Tuni sia's exports to Turkey growing by 254.2%.  
Tunisia believed that the Agreement would contribute  to bilateral trade liberalization while complying 
with its WTO rights and obligations.   
7. The representative of the United States
 thanked the Parties and the Secretariat for the helpful 
material.  She noted that while Turkey had committ ed to eliminate duties on 83.4% of all tariff lines, 
covering 99.2% of imports from Tunisia, it woul d eliminate duties on 96.8% of non-agricultural 
products and only on 18.7% of agricultural produc ts.  In comparison, Tunisia had committed to 
eliminate duties on 76.5% of all tariff lines, covering 96.5% of imports from Turkey, it would eliminate duties on 95.2% of non-agricultural products  and only 3.3% of agricultural products.  In 
addition, the Parties had agreed to hold consultati ons within one year following the Agreement's entry 
into force to improve agricultural liberalization.  However, as of July 2008 no further concessions on 
agriculture products had been granted.  The United Stated commended the Parties for having 
eliminated tariffs on a high percentage of non-agricultural products, but was disappointed for the extremely disproportionate level of liberalization between non-agricultural and agricultural products.  
Tunisia's tariff elimination of 3.3% of agricultural products was close to an exclusion of all agricultural products, like the tariff elimination of 1. 7% of Tunisia's agricultural products in its FTA 
with the EFTA States considered at the 51
st Session of the CRTA.  As noted in the Understanding on 
the Interpretation of GATT Article XXIV, the contri bution to the expansion of world trade through 
closer integration between the economies of the Parties, was diminished if any major sector of trade was excluded.  Given the extensive protection afford ed to both Parties' agricultural products, the 
United States questioned how the Parties could possibly consider that the Agreement met the 
substantially all the trade test.  She also noted that four of the Agreements considered by the 
Committee, EFTA-Korea, Japan-Malaysia, China-Pa kistan and Turkey-Tunisia, were based on a 
disturbing and an à la carte  approach to RTAs.  Such an appro ach discriminated against other trading 
partners and eroded the MFN obligations in GA TT Article I.  The representative of Turkey
 replied 
that substantially all the trade was not the same as all the trade, but without doubt significantly more 
than some of the trade.  Since an agreed defi nition of the term had not been reached by all 
WTO Members, the Parties believed that the Ag reement had substantial coverage fulfilling the 
requirements of GATT Article XXIV.  
8. Referring to its written question 6, the United States  asked for which Party the table on the 
average duty rate by HS chapter for the remaini ng dutiable lines was and requested the Party who had 
not provided such data to do so.  The representative of Turkey  replied that the table referred to 
Turkey.   The representative of Tunisia  noted that Table III.3, on pages 9-10, showed tariff 
elimination with the average fina l dutiable tariff by HS section.   
9. The Chairman  noted that the consideration of the go ods aspects of the Association Agreement 
between Turkey and Tunisia had allowed the Comm ittee to clarify a number of questions and oral 
discussion of the Agreement could be concluded in accordance with paragraph 11 of the TM.  If any 
delegations wished to ask follow-up questions, they  were invited to submit replies in writing by no 
later than 27 April 2009 and the Parties were asked to  submit replies to the Secretariat no later than 4 
May 2009.  In accordance with paragraph 13 of the TM all written submissions, as well as the minutes 
of this meeting would be circulated promptly, in  all WTO official languages, and would be made 
available on the WTO website. 
10. The Committee took note  of the comments made. 
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