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Invest in the MEDA region, why how ?
social cost of structural adjustment, a pre‐condition for political and
social stability.
Tunisia was the first country (in 1995) to sign the free trade
agreement with the European Union in the framework of the
Euromed initiative. Between 1992 and 2004, Tunisia’s GDP rose by
an average 4.1 percent, reaching a record 5.8 percent in 2004. The
2005 performance was for the most part positive (4.2 percent of
GDP), despite tougher international competition and rising oil
prices, sustained by favourable growth in service activities such as
tourism (6.4 million tourists, TND2.563 million, some 12.5 percent
of current revenues), air transport, telecommunications, and new
technologies. For 2006, the latest estimates forecast GDP growth of
4.6 percent.
The manufacturing sector, in particular textile/clothing industries,
has been the spearhead of Tunisia’s economic development since
1972, stimulated by a policy of foreign investment promotion and
exports. 42 percent of overall manufacturing output is exported,
thanks in particular to subcontracting activities. Manufacturing
industries account for 20 percent of GDP and employ 20.5 percent
of the labour force, whereas agriculture and fishing contribute for
14.3 percent of GDP and provide 22 percent of jobs and tourism
generates 15.6 percent of GDP. The country counts more than
10,000 industrial companies.
A structural adjustment or ʺupgradingʺ programme has been
introduced to improve the competitiveness of the manufacturing
sector and related service companies in order to prepare companies
for implementation of the free trade zone with the EU. In parallel, a
strategy of export promotion was launched to strengthen export
capacity at the company level. One component of this strategy is
the institution of a documentation called the “single bundle” (liasse
unique) for imports and exports. As early as 1989 the Government
also set up a legislative framework for privatisation. There have
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