In Tunisia's trade, state enterprises are playing a major role in controlling the import and export and domestic distribution channels for grains, sugar, tea, fuels, cooking oil and medicine. Most of the state-private enterprises are joint ventures with foreign capital, in small umber but large scale. The private merchants are very active in its foreign trade activities and scattered around the whole country. The total trade volume in 1998 was 13.8 billion dollars among which 5.6 billion dollars for export, 8.2 billion dollars for import and 2.6 billion dollars for deficit. Its foreign trade is in unfavorable position for years and is balanced by tourism income.
Main exports are textile, phosphate, crude oil, oil and oil products.
It main imports daily necessities, textile materials, electrical machinery, food and medicine. France, Italy and Germany are also its large trade partners. Since the reform and open policy in 1987, its situation is safe and stable. By 1997 it had already attracted 3.6 billion dollars of foreign investment due to its preferential policy and close connection to Europe. Tunisia joined GATT in 1990 and signed agreement with EU in 1995, which came into effect in March 1998.