The Tunis Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIT) issued 15 certificates of origin in 2023 to Cameroon, Tanzania and Ghana,” CCIT President Mounir Mouakhar said on Thursday. Speaking at the opening of a workshop organised by the CCIT in Tunis under the theme: “African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” Mouakhar further indicated that the certificate of origin (an essential document for exporters) will be issued electronically as of January 2024 so as to simplify procedures and shorten deadlines. Tunisia seeks to increase its exports to Africa from 3% to 20%, he pointed out. The CCIT President further voiced wish that more sectors will benefit from the AfCFTA agreements, as at present only food products, ceramics and chemicals are covered. “The African market today is full of opportunities that must be exploited,” he added, indicating that intra-African trade is currently considered low, accounting for just 14.4% of the total African exports. The AfCFTA could boost intra-African trade by nearly 33% and reduce the continent’s trade deficit by 51%, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said. With a 1.2 billion-consumer market, this free trade area could help African countries pull 30 million people out of extreme poverty and increase the income of 68 million others living on less than US$ 5.50 a day. Taking the floor, deputy director at the Trade and Export Development Ministry Fakhri Bouzaiène underlined that the obstacles to intra-African trade are numerous and are mainly related to transport, logistics, border, information and transaction costs and trade policy There are instruments to support the AfCFTA’s implementation, such as the African Trade Observatory (ATO), the AfCFTA e-tariff book, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and the Non-Tariff Barriers Reporting, Monitoring and Eliminating.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse