Tunisia is committed to creating a dispute settlement mechanism that enshrines the principle of litigation at two levels, by activating the Appeals Authority, because it is the only guarantor of a more transparent global trading system, capable of protecting the rights of all member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
This was mentioned by the Minister of Trade and Export Development, Kathoum Ben Rejeb, during her participation, on February 28 and 29, 2024, in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, at the 13th ministerial conference of the WTO, dedicated to the debate on the reform of this organization with the settlement of disputes, at the head of a Tunisian delegation, we learn in a press release from the Ministry of Commerce.
The minister stressed the need to take into consideration a set of development dimensions during the negotiations by showing a certain flexibility towards developing countries, including Tunisia so that they can promote their industrial policies.
She also denounced the unilateral measures that will be adopted by certain developed countries under the pretext of achieving sustainable development and preserving the environment. “These measures will make it difficult for our exports to access markets in developing countries,” she noted.
Concerning electronic commerce, the Tunisian delegation called for the creation of an international compensation mechanism that would help both developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) to fill the deficit in customs revenue resulting from non-application customs duties on electronic transactions.
On the sidelines of this conference, Ben Rejeb presented to his Malian counterpart, Moussa Alassane Diallo, the African Continental Land Trade Corridor project, supported both by the general secretariat of Comesa and Zlecaf, which will start from the border post from Ras Jedir to sub-Saharan African countries.
She also had a meeting with the director of the office for Arab States at the International Trade Center (ITC), Lilia Naas. The two officials had a discussion on Tunisia’s export strategy, currently being developed in collaboration with ITC experts.
