Indonesia, Tunisia to Ink Preferential Trade Agreement in January

Indonesia is expected to ink a preferential trade agreement with Tunisia early next year — a deal that will give Jakarta’s palm oil better access to the Northern African market. A preferential trade agreement, also known as a PTA, only covers import tax reduction commitments for certain tariff lines. Jakarta has been negotiating the accord with the Tunisian government since 2018. Trade Minister Budi Santoso revealed Tuesday that both countries had already finalized the document. “We are planning to sign the Indonesia-Tunisia PTA in January. The [negotiations] are pretty much done, it’s just a matter of time,” Budi told the press in Jakarta. According to Trade Ministry data, Tunisia has agreed to give preferential treatment for Indonesian palm oil, bananas, and frozen fish. Tunis will roll out the red carpet for cocoa and threads. Budi did not go into details on how low the Maghreb nation was willing to drop the tariff rate on Indonesian palm oil. In return, Southeast Asia’s ...