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Tunisia Hopes to Reach Deal with IMF By End of October

A Tunisian woman is shopping in a store, while the sign in French prohibits buying more than one bottle of milk per buyer (Reuters)
A Tunisian woman is shopping in a store, while the sign in French prohibits buying more than one bottle of milk per buyer (Reuters)
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Tunisia Hopes to Reach Deal with IMF By End of October

A Tunisian woman is shopping in a store, while the sign in French prohibits buying more than one bottle of milk per buyer (Reuters)
A Tunisian woman is shopping in a store, while the sign in French prohibits buying more than one bottle of milk per buyer (Reuters)

Tunisia hopes to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund by the end of October, the government's spokesperson said on Friday, after a wage deal agreed with unions was seen as a key step towards getting IMF support.

"The Tunisian negotiating team was in contact yesterday with (the) IMF regarding the last terms of the agreement with the Fund," Nasreddine Nsibi, the government spokesperson, said.

"We seek to reach a deal with the IMF before the end of October, which would make Tunisia able to fulfill all its commitments, including providing food and energy products, paying wages and debt service," he added.

The government and the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) on Thursday signed a deal to boost public sector wages by 5 percent, a step that may ease social tensions.

Fitch Ratings said on Friday that Tunisia’s wage agreement raises the likelihood of an IMF deal.

The IMF and major foreign donors want Tunisia to push ahead with cuts in subsidies and the restructuring of state-owned companies as well as steps to bring the public sector wage bill under control.

The IMF has signaled it will not move forward with a bailout sought by Tunis unless the government brings on board the UGTT, which says it has more than a million members and has previously shut down the economy in strikes.

The Tunisian government and the country's main labor union signed late Thursday a deal on wage increases. The agreement includes a 5-percent annual pay rise for civil servants until 2025.

On the sidelines of the signing, the Secretary General of the UGTT Noureddine Taboubi said that this agreement is the outcome of difficult negotiations.

According to Prime Minister Najla Bouden, the government is cooperating with the social partner to overcome the difficulties facing the country, such as the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The prime minister added that the agreement is the fruit of the joint course of action between the government and the UGTT, the official Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) has reported.

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Report: EU to Vote on Oct 4 to Finalize Tariffs for China-made EVs

A Leapmotor electric vehicle is put though a rain test on the production line at the Leapmotor factory in Jinhua, China's eastern Zhejiang province on September 18, 2024. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)
A Leapmotor electric vehicle is put though a rain test on the production line at the Leapmotor factory in Jinhua, China's eastern Zhejiang province on September 18, 2024. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)
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Report: EU to Vote on Oct 4 to Finalize Tariffs for China-made EVs

A Leapmotor electric vehicle is put though a rain test on the production line at the Leapmotor factory in Jinhua, China's eastern Zhejiang province on September 18, 2024. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)
A Leapmotor electric vehicle is put though a rain test on the production line at the Leapmotor factory in Jinhua, China's eastern Zhejiang province on September 18, 2024. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)

The European Union is planning to vote on whether to introduce tariffs as high as 45% on imported electric vehicles made in China on Oct. 4, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Member states have received a draft of the regulation for the proposed measures, the report said, adding that the new date could still change.
According to the report, the vote among the bloc's member states was slightly delayed amid last-minute negotiations with Beijing to try to find a resolution that would avoid the new levies.
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The European Commission is on the verge of proposing final tariffs of up to 35.3% on EVs built in China, on top of the EU's standard 10% car import duty.
The proposed final duties will be subject to a vote by the EU's 27 members. They will be implemented by the end of October unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members representing 65% of the EU population votes against the levies.