INTERNATIONAL ACT

SUPLY CHAIN

In order to resume dialogue with its North African partner to facilitate bilateral trade, the European Union has decided to initiate a dispute settlement procedure against Algeria.

On Friday 14 June, the European Commission announced that it had launched adispute settlement procedureagainst Algeria. For Brussels, the measures taken by Algiers since 2021 in the area of import and investment would penalise European companies and would be against the EU-Algeria Association Agreement. Signed in 2002 and entered into force in 2005, the Agreement establishes a framework for cooperation in all areas, including trade. The dispute settlement procedure just launched by the EU has been carried out under this agreement. It is true that, at the end of the pandemic, in response to the economic crisis, Algeria had chosen to limit its imports to fill its deficits and boost its local production.

The Brussels objective is primarily to engage in a constructive dialogue to safeguard the rights of European companies and exporters in Algeria and to try to lift restrictions in several sectors, including agricultural products or motor vehicles. Brussels thus listed eight complaints against its Algerian partner, including the import licensing system in Algeria, the ban on bank domicile for large companies in marble and ceramic products or the obligation for car manufacturers to include an increasing percentage of local products in the manufacture of vehicles. If no solution is found, the EU will be entitled to request the establishment of an arbitration panel.

The European Union is Algeria's main partner and accounted for more than 50% of Algeria's international trade in 2023. In recent years, the value of EU exports to Algeria has gradually declined from EUR 22.3 billion in 2015 to EUR 14.9 billion in 2023.