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Japan Says Financial Aid for Tunisia Hinges on IMF Deal

Japan will consider financial assistance to Tunisia once an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal is reached. (Reuters)
Japan will consider financial assistance to Tunisia once an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal is reached. (Reuters)
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Japan Says Financial Aid for Tunisia Hinges on IMF Deal

Japan will consider financial assistance to Tunisia once an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal is reached. (Reuters)
Japan will consider financial assistance to Tunisia once an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal is reached. (Reuters)

Japan will consider financial assistance to Tunisia once a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is reached, head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tanaka Akihiko has announced.

Tunisian Minister of Economy and Planning Samir Saied signed last week a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for several projects in many sectors, such as infrastructure, renewable energy, and others.

The projects will be presented to Japanese officials to obtain the necessary financial funds.

The Fund's approval is Japan's top condition to launch the projects.

The Japanese official added that the IMF deal would be the basis for discussions with financial institutions, including JICA.

"Once an agreement concluded, Tunisia will be required to introduce necessary economic reforms," he said.

Japan will be ready to provide financial assistance when reforms are undertaken.

The Fund required an "economic reform package" directed towards subsidizing essential consumer products, reforming the financial balances of central government institutions and the tax system, and reducing wages in the public sector.

Economist and financial expert Ezzeddine Saidane said that obtaining funds from major international financial institutions are coupled with the progress of Tunisia's negotiations with the IMF.

Saidane said Tunisia is awaiting the IMF's approval for the economic reforms program to be implemented between the two parties.

He stressed that organizing major economic forums and conferences is essential to explaining the advantages of investment in Tunisia, noting that establishing an appropriate investment environment is essential.

The expert stressed that the state is required to lead the investments, indicating that in 2010, it invested about 25 percent of the country's budget for development, which now dropped to no more than three percent.

Saidane believes that if the state is reluctant to invest, local and foreign private entities will not be incentivized to invest.

The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), which was held last weekend in Tunis, resulted in presenting a set of economic projects, including 81 by the Tunisian private sector.

A set of agreements was also signed during the conference.

The Tunisian government submitted 47 projects to the Japanese financing institutions in several fields, including health, environment, higher education, infrastructure, water desalination, transportation, renewable energies, and green economy.

Japan provided Tunisia with financial aid of $100 million to mitigate the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

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China Exempts Some Goods from US Tariffs to Limit trade War Pain

TOPSHOT - An aerial view shows cargo containers stacked at a port in Shanghai on April 20, 2025. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
TOPSHOT - An aerial view shows cargo containers stacked at a port in Shanghai on April 20, 2025. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
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China Exempts Some Goods from US Tariffs to Limit trade War Pain

TOPSHOT - An aerial view shows cargo containers stacked at a port in Shanghai on April 20, 2025. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
TOPSHOT - An aerial view shows cargo containers stacked at a port in Shanghai on April 20, 2025. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT

China has exempted some US imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking firms to identify critical goods they need levy-free, according to businesses notified, in the clearest sign yet of Beijing's concerns about the trade war's economic fallout.

The dispensation, which follows de-escalatory statements from Washington, signals that the world's two largest economies were prepared to rein in their conflict, which had frozen much of the trade between them, raising fears of a global recession.

Beijing's exemptions - which business groups hope would extend to dozens of industries - pushed the US dollar up slightly and lifted equity markets in Hong Kong and Japan.

“As a quid-pro-quo move, it could provide a potential way to de-escalate tensions," said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, a senior adviser to the Conference Board's China Center, a think tank.

But, he cautioned: "It’s clear that neither the US nor China want to be the first in reaching out for a deal."

China has not yet communicated publicly on any exemptions. A Friday statement by the Politburo, the Communist Party's elite decision-making body, focused on efforts to maintain stability at home by supporting firms and workers most affected by tariffs.

The readout, which followed the Politburo's regular monthly meeting, showed that Beijing was also ready to hunker down and fight a trade war of attrition if needed to outlast Washington in enduring the pain from the breakdown of their relationship.

A Ministry of Commerce taskforce is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs and is asking companies to submit their own requests, according to a person with knowledge of that outreach.

The ministry said on Thursday it had held a meeting with more than 80 foreign companies and business chambers in China to discuss the impact of US tariffs on investment and the operation of foreign firms in the country.

"The Chinese government, for example, has been asking our companies what sort of things are you importing to China from the US that you cannot find anywhere else and so would shut down your supply chain," American Chamber of Commerce in China President Michael Hart said.

Hart added some member pharmaceutical companies had reported being able to import drugs to China without tariffs. He believed the exemptions were drug-specific, not industry-wide.

The chief executive of French aircraft engine maker Safran said on Friday it had been informed last night that China had granted tariff exemptions on "a certain number of aerospace equipment parts" including engines and landing gear.

The tariff exemptions under consideration by Beijing could provide cost relief for companies in China and take pressure off US exports at a time when the Trump administration has shown signs of wanting to make a deal with Beijing.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China also said it had raised the issue of tariff exemptions with the commerce ministry and was awaiting a response.

"Many of our member companies are significantly impacted by the tariffs on critical components imported from the US," President Jens Eskelund said.

A list of 131 categories of products said to be under consideration for tariff exemptions was circulating on Chinese social media platforms and among some businesses and trade groups on Friday. Reuters could not verify the list, which included items ranging from vaccines and chemicals to jet engines.

Huatai Securities said the list corresponded to $45 billion worth of imports to China last year.

China's customs agency and Ministry of Commerce did not reply to requests for comment. China's foreign ministry said it was not familiar with tariff exemption plans, redirecting queries to "relevant authorities".