Algeria: EU Association Agreement has not had the desired effect, says Benyounes
Algerie Presse Service (Algiers) | 23 November 2014
Algeria: EU Association Agreement has not had the desired effect, says Benyounes
Algeria — The Algeria-EU Association Agreement has not had the desired effect which is to promote the minus-hydrocarbon exports and attract the foreign investments, Trade Minister Amara Benyounes said.
Nearly ten years after its enforcement, the Algeria-EU Association Agreement "has not helped Algeria promote the non-oil exports and attract the foreign direct investments, which represent two requirements for the conclusion of any free trade agreement," the minister said in an interview to "The Parliament Magazine".
For Benyounes, three key factors have marked the Algerian-EU trade since the application of the Agreement in 2005.
According to him, this is a "structural imbalance" of the non-oil trade balance in favor of the EU with a "poor" attraction of the European FDIs, including the export-oriented industries and in food chains.
He thus found that the EU consolidated, since the enforcement of this agreement, its market share in the Algerian imports, or 52% annually, despite the tough competition from products from the rest of world.
For the minister, a "deep analysis" is necessary to draw a "consistent and rigorous approach" in order to upgrade this agreement to reflect the objectives of the Algerian economic policy.
In 2013, Algeria imported from EU for $28.5 billion and exported for $42.7 billion.
