Two Tunisian exporting companies operating in the chemical and food industries sectors have obtained the first certificates of origin of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to export to Cameroon, the third largest importing market for Tunisian products in sub-Saharan Africa. The information was announced by the Ministry of Trade and Export Development in a statement issued Wednesday following a meeting held at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tunis (CCIT). The certificate of origin, which is considered a key element of the effective entry into force of the agreement, will allow companies to benefit from the reductions in customs duties that should be eliminated within two years. It is issued by the CCIT initially before being generalised to the other chambers of commerce and industry (CCI). It is used to prove the origin of goods to meet customs or trade requirements and attests that they originate in Tunisia. This measure will allow economic actors to benefit from the advantages linked to the progressive abolition of customs duties and taxes with equivalent effect, on the basis of reciprocity. The issuance of certificates will contribute to the development of trade with the African market and the strengthening of the presence of Tunisian products and services in these promising markets, according to the participants in the meeting cited by the same source. The economic actors were invited, in this context, to take advantage of the agreements concluded with African countries, especially since the certificate of origin will be generalised and digitised in order to promote the access of Tunisian companies from different sectors to African markets. Tunisia is among the first 8 African countries (Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius) that are preparing to launch the AfCFTA, and this, within the framework of the said initiative, recalled the Ministry of Trade. The AfCFTA Agreement entered into force in May 2019. It was ratified by Tunisia on 7 August 2020. It is one of the flagship projects of the African Union (AU) which aims to strengthen South-South cooperation for an “integrated, prosperous and peaceful” Africa in line with the AU Agenda 2063 and to consolidate trade relations between the 55 member states of the union, in a market totalling more than 300 million consumers and 3400 billion dollars of trade annually. The agreement aims to remove customs barriers to the free movement of goods and services between African countries.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse