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Debate in Tunisia over Role of Currency Exchange against Black Market

A shopkeeper counts money in of his shop at a bazar in Tunis, Tunisia. (Reuters file photo)
A shopkeeper counts money in of his shop at a bazar in Tunis, Tunisia. (Reuters file photo)
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Debate in Tunisia over Role of Currency Exchange against Black Market

A shopkeeper counts money in of his shop at a bazar in Tunis, Tunisia. (Reuters file photo)
A shopkeeper counts money in of his shop at a bazar in Tunis, Tunisia. (Reuters file photo)

The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) has allowed foreign exchange activities outside the banking system, in favor of a group of licensed manual exchange offices. This has allowed financial activities to develop and evolve over the past months, reaching about 25 offices, up from seven in June.

BCT Governor Marouane Abassi confirmed that the bank has approved 45 applications to open exchange offices since the beginning of the year, which is expected to contribute to increasing the number of those offices that work in coordination with the Central Bank and the rest of the banking system.

Abbasi hopes this will curb illegal and speculative activities that are part of illegal financial operations, such as in the black market.

There are currently six exchange offices in Tunis, six in Sousse and three in each of Nabeul, Mahdia and Madania.

Legally, exchange offices are bound to the BCT, which determines the conditions for obtaining their licenses and the reasons for revoking their authorization in case of breaches.

Anyone wishing to engage in manual exchange is required to provide a bank guarantee of about $17,000 to the central bank.

The bank confirmed that licensed manual exchange offices will contribute to the legalization of currency purchase, which will limit illegal means of buying and selling currencies in Tunisia.

At least $1 billion is traded outside the banking system, leading to enormous economic damage resulting from the decline in domestic reserve of foreign currencies and banks losing a significant financial commission from various exchange operations, according to official statistics.

Some experts are skeptical about the effectiveness of these offices in reducing the phenomenon of illegal speculation in hard currency.

However, others believe that the results are beginning to emerge, as Tunisia's foreign exchange reserves have risen to around 95 supply days, after hitting a low of 73 during in early 2019.

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Trump Exempts Mexico Goods from Tariffs for a Month, but Doesn’t Mention Canada

Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Exempts Mexico Goods from Tariffs for a Month, but Doesn’t Mention Canada

Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Mexico won't be required to pay tariffs on any goods that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade until April 2, but made no mention of a reprieve for Canada despite his Commerce secretary saying a comparable exemption was likely.

"After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This Agreement is until April 2nd."

Earlier on Thursday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the one-month reprieve on hefty tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada that has been granted to automotive products is likely to be extended to all products that comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

Lutnick told CNBC he expected Trump to announce that extension on Thursday, a day after exempting automotive goods from the 25% tariffs he slapped on imports from Canada and Mexico earlier in the week.

Trump "is going to decide this today," Lutnick said, adding "it's likely that it will cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services."

"So if you think about it this way, if you lived under Donald Trump's US-Mexico-Canada agreement, you will get a reprieve from these tariffs now. If you chose to go outside of that, you did so at your own risk, and today is when that reckoning comes," he said.

Nonetheless, Trump's social media post made no mention of a reprieve for Canada, the other party to the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Lutnick said his "off the cuff" estimate was that more than 50% of the goods imported from the two US neighbors - also its largest two trading partners - were compliant with the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Lutnick's comments "promising" in remarks to reporters in Canada.

"That aligns with some of the conversations that we have been having with administration officials, but I'm going to wait for an official agreement to talk about Canadian response and look at the details of it," Trudeau said. "But it is a promising sign. But I will highlight that it means that the tariffs remain in place, and therefore our response will remain in place."

Lutnick emphasized that the reprieve would only last until April 2, when he said the administration plans to move ahead with reciprocal tariffs under which the US will impose levies that match those imposed by trading partners.

In the meantime, he said, the current hiatus is about getting fentanyl deaths down, which is the initial justification Trump used for the tariffs on Mexico and Canada and levies on Chinese goods that have now risen to 20%.

"On April 2, we're going to move with the reciprocal tariffs, and hopefully Mexico and Canada will have done a good enough job on fentanyl that this part of the conversation will be off the table, and we'll move just to the reciprocal tariff conversation," Lutnick said. "But if they haven't, this will stay on."

Indeed, Trudeau is expecting the US and Canada to remain in a trade war.

"I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future," he told reporters in Ottawa.