Regulatory approximation under ALECA: assessing the economic and social effects on the Tunisian agricultural sector
The liberalization of the Tunisian agricultural sector has been a key issue in the ALECA negotiations since the first formal round of negotiations in Tunis in 2015.The EU requests a far-reaching liberalization of tariffs and tariff quotas for agricultural products.Given the higher level of tariff protection in Tunisia and existing market access restrictions (in particular the EU quota regulations for olive oils), the greater absolute effort in dismantling tariffs in response to ALECA will fall on Tunisia. A 10-year transition period and a negative list approach for the exemption of sensitive products are supposed to account for such burdens.
Beyond the changes in tariffs and quotas, an EU principle for ALECA negotiations is that «Tunisia shall progressively approximate its sanitary and phytosanitary regulations to the EU acquis» (European Commission 2016: 2).Such demands for regulatory approximation are motivated by enhanced market access to the EU market, once Tunisian companies comply with EU regulations. The potential economic benefits for Tunisia in the long run should emerge through higher competitiveness and efficiency in the sector. However, such rationales have been put into question.
Taking into account the additional compliance costs for Tunisian producers and the public sector, our impact assessment concludes that ALECA has significant downside risks, as value-added in Tunisian agriculture might decline by up to 8.3 %. This study assesses the social and economic effects of regulatory approximation under ALECA with different liberalization scenarios and provides policy recommendations for a sustainable agricultural development in Tunisia.