The Algerian Ministry of Commerce has just released a list of 851 products to temporarily suspend imports since January 2018 to reduce the trade deficit and replace […]
Algeria's Ministry of Commerce has just released a list of 851 products to temporarily suspend imports since January 2018 to reduce the trade deficit and replace imported goods with domestic products.
Previously, Minister of Trade Mohamed Benmerradi announced that there will be a list of nearly 900 items that must be temporarily suspended from import from January 2018 within the framework of foreign trade management measures. Even Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said the above list will be expanded to 1,000 products. According to the Algerian Ministry of Commerce, stopping this import will save 1.5 billion USD. The Algerian government aims to reduce the total import value to 30 billion USD by the end of 2018. Algeria's import bill fell from $46.7 billion in 2016 to $45 billion in 2017.
Among the items temporarily suspended from import are dried fruits, finished cheeses, fresh fruits (except bananas), fresh vegetables (except garlic), meat (except beef), tuna, corn products, meat products, chewing gum, candy and chocolate, food powders (such as noodles, vermicelli), pellets, cereal products, canned vegetables, canned or processed tomatoes, jams, frozen juices, jellies, canned fruits, food food, ingredients for soup, porridge and mineral water.
In the list of temporarily suspended imports are also items used in the home and construction materials such as cement, detergents, finished and semi-finished plastic products, sanitary products, marble, granite, toilet paper, carpets, finished porcelain, glass, harvesters, faucets (robines), cables, wooden furniture, chandeliers, household electrical appliances and mobile phones. In short, these are all products that can be easily produced or processed in Algeria (List of items temporarily suspended from import on the link attached according).
The Algerian government explained the application of the above measure because the import turnover of these goods is too large. In addition, the Government will expand the list of items subject to domestic consumption tax at 30% for 10 groups of finished products as well as increase customs taxes up to 60% for 32 other groups of finished products.
The Minister of Trade said: “These measures will allow not only to improve the competitiveness of local products compared to imports, but also to increase budget revenues from the import of certain luxury products.”
According to him, the application of this measure is mainly to balance the balance of payments deficit of 11.06 billion USD in the first 6 months of 2017.
According to Mr. Mohamed Benmerradi, in 2018, Algeria will abolish the import license system after two years of application for 21 products because "it not only shows limitations but is also a bureaucratic system, lacking transparency, not to mention sometimes creating problems with the supply of goods". Only passenger cars or buses continue to be governed by import licenses.
Trade restriction measures applied in 2017
Algeria has expanded the number of items subject to import licenses from 3 items: cars, cement and round iron in 2016 to 21 types of items in 2017, including household electrical appliances, mobile phones, cosmetics, wood, ceramics, fresh and frozen beef, cheese, fresh lemons, apples, bananas, barley, garlic, corn, soybean meal and concentrated tomato juice. In terms of payment, all import and export transactions are required to go through banks.
Since the beginning of 2017, the Central Bank of Algeria has asked the country's commercial banks not to allow payments for the import of citrus fruits and fresh vegetables. In addition to having to do so at commercial banks, for all activities of importing goods for resale in their original state, importing businesses must register in advance with the bank a reserve amount equal to 120% of the total value of imported goods at least 30 days before the goods are sent to Algeria.
Situation of trade exchange between Vietnam and Algeria November 11, 2017
According to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in the first 11 months of 2017, Vietnam's total export turnover to Algeria reached 264 million USD, up 9.3% over the same period last year, of which coffee exports reached 47,350 tons, turnover of 103.2 million USD, down 20% in volume and 1% in value; mobile phones only reached 62 million USD, down 14%; Rice exports reached 39,926 tons, turnover of 15.74 million USD, up 59% in volume and 63% in value.
Regarding imports, in 2017, Vietnam's import turnover from this market was estimated to reach 6 million USD.
Since the Algerian Government tightened import measures such as issuing licenses for 21 items since June 2017 (including mobile phones), banning imports of all kinds of ceramic tiles and wood, Vietnam's export turnover to this market began to decline. In the last 3 months (August, September and October), Vietnam was unable to export mobile phones and components to Algeria. The total export turnover of all kinds of goods to Algeria in November 2017 only reached 12.63 million USD, a sharp decrease compared to 38.8 million USD in May 2017 and 36.5 million USD in June 2017.
With Algeria's new trade policy that will apply from 2018, it is forecasted that Vietnam's exports to this market will continue to face difficulties not only in phones but also related to other items such as confectionery, grain products, fruit and vegetable products, plastic products, iron and steel products, ceramics, construction stone...
Algeria is currently among the few countries that are not members of the WTO.
Procedures
