Tunisia's trade deficit with the "BRICS" countries, an economic and financial grouping of five fast-growing countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), reached 9 billion dinars at the end of 2021, according to a research paper published by the Ibn Khaldun Development Forum (FIKD). The paper points out that this deficit is mainly due to the trade imbalance with China and Russia, as these countries' revenues cover only 12 per cent of current expenditure. The Forum stressed that the geographical distribution of Tunisia's external payments over the period 1986-2021 showed a positive balance of external payments (i.e. trade and financial flows) with the European Union. This contrasted with a cumulative deficit with China, Turkey and Russia, which accounted for up to 17 per cent of the country's total deficit. It pointed out that the dismantling of the tariff system with the European Union in 1995 had a positive impact, as the percentage of imports covered by exports shifted from 5.83 per cent in 1995 to more than 100 per cent in 2021. The research organisation also noted that the balance of payments between Tunisia and the Maghreb countries is also in surplus, despite the importance of energy imports from Algeria (around 4 million dinars in 2019).
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse