RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/ACC/DZA/1
11July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2692)
Original: French
ACCESSION OFALGERIA
Memorandum onForeign Trade Regime
Inacommunication dated 25September 1995(WT/L/23), theGovernment ofAlgeria applied
foraccession under Article XIIoftheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization (WTO).
FollowingAlgeria'sapplicationandhavingregardtotheDecisionadoptedbytheGeneralCouncil
on31January 1995(WT/GC/M/1), theWorking Party ontheAccession ofAlgeria totheGATT 1947
wastransformed intoaWTO Accession Working Party. Theterms ofreference oftheWorking Party
arealsocontained indocument WT/L/23.
Thememorandum onAlgeria 'sforeign trade regime isreproduced below.
Inaccordance withprocedures (WT/ACC/1), Members areinvited tocommunicate tothe
Secretariat anyquestions theymaywishtoputconcerning thematters dealtwithintheMemorandum
by17September 1996 fortransmission totheauthorities ofAlgeria.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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TABLE OFCONTENTS
Page
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. ECONOMY, ECONOMIC POLICIES AND FOREIGN TRADE 2
1. Economy 2
(a) General description 2
(b) Current economic situation 3
2. Economic policies 4
(a) Main directions andgoals ofeconomic policy 4
(b) Monetary policy andinterest rates 8
(c) Foreign-exchange regime andliberalization offoreign trade 10
(d) Investment promotion policies 10
(e) Price andcompetition policies 12
3. Foreign trade ingoods andservices 14
(a) Trade ingoods 14
(b) Foreign trade inservices 16
4. Domestic trade inservices 18
(a) Trends indomestic trade inservices 18
(b) Breakdown ofdomestic trade inservices bymain
areas ofactivity andbysector 19
5. Information onfinancial movements related tonationals
working abroad 19
6. Information ongrowth intrade ingoods andservices over
recent years andforecasts foryears tocome 19
III. FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES
AFFECTING FOREIGN TRADE 20
1. Powers ofexecutive, legislative andjudicial branches
ofgovernment 20
(a) TheExecutive 20
(b) TheLegislature 21
(c) TheJudiciary 22
2. Government entities responsible fortheelaboration and
implementation offoreign trade policy 22WT/ACC/DZA/1
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3. Division ofauthority between central government
andlocalauthorities 24
4. Anylegislative programmes orplans tochange theregulatory regime 24
(a) Theregime applicable toimport andexport operations 25
(b) Identification ofunfair practices andaction tocombat them 25
(c) Export promotion 25
(d) Supervision offoreign trade 25
(e) Other provisions 26
5. Laws andlegalacts 26
(a) Listoflawsandlegalactsregulating theactivity
ofthecustoms authorities 26
(b) Laws andlegalactsrelating to: 29
- Non-tariff regulation ofimports 29
- Non-tariff export regulations 30
(c) Laws andregulations relating toforeign investment 30
(d) Other lawsandlegalactsdealing witheconomic
issues thataffect trade 31
(e) Existing laws, regulations oradministrative guidelines
which significantly affect trade inservices 40
6. Description ofjudicial tribunals andprocedures 41
(a) Administration ofjustice 41
(b) Criminal law 41
(c) Civil law 42
(d) Administrative law 43
(e) Arbitration 43
IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE INGOODS 45
1. Import regulation 45
(a) Registration requirements forengaging inimporting 45
(b) Characteristics ofthenational tariff 45
(c) Tariff quotas, tariff exemptions 48
(d) Other duties andcharges, including charges for
services rendered 48
(e) Quantitative import restrictions, including
prohibitions, quotas andlicensing systems 48
(f) Import licensing procedures 48
(g) Other border measures 48
(h) Customs valuation 48
(i) Preshipment inspection 49
(j) Application ofinternal taxes onimports 49WT/ACC/DZA/1
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(k) Rules oforigin 49
(l) Anti-dumping regime 49
(m) Countervailing dutyregime 49
(n) Safeguard regime 50
2. Export regulation 50
(a) Registration requirements forengaging inexporting 50
(b) Customs tariff nomenclature, types ofduties,
dutyrates, weighted averages ofrates 50
(c) Quantitative export restrictions, including
prohibitions, quotas andlicensing systems 50
(d) Export licensing procedures 50
(e) Other measures (minimum export prices, voluntary
export restrictions, orderly marketing arrangements) 50
(f) Export financing, subsidy andpromotion policies 51
(g) Export performance requirements 51
(h) Import dutydrawback schemes 51
3. Internal policies affecting foreign trade ingoods 51
(a) Industrial policy 51
(b) Quality control policy, technical regulations andstandards 54
(c) Sanitary andphytosanitary measures 59
(d) Trade-related investment measures 63
(e) State-trading practices 63
(f) Freezones 64
(g) Freeeconomic zones 64
(h) Trade-related environmental policies 64
(i) Mixing regulations 65
(j) Government-mandated counter-trade andbarter 65
(k) Trade agreements leading tocountry-specific
quota allocation 66
(l) Government procurement practices 66
(m) Regulation oftrade intransit 67
4. Policies affecting trade inagricultural products 67
(a) Imports 68
(b) Exports 68
(c) Export prohibitions andrestrictions 68
(d) Export credits, credit guarantees andinsurance 68
(e) Internal agricultural policies 68
5. Policies affecting foreign trade inother sectors 71
(a) Textiles regime 71
(b) Policies affecting foreign trade inother major sectors 71WT/ACC/DZA/1
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V. TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME 71
1. General 71
(a) Intellectual property policy 71
(b) Agencies responsible forpolicy formulation and
implementation 72
(c) Membership ofinternational intellectual property
conventions andofregional orbilateral agreements 73
(d) Application ofnational andmost-favoured-nation (MFN)
treatment toforeign nationals 73
(e) Feesandtaxes 74
2. Substantive standards ofprotection, including procedures forthe
acquisition andmaintenance ofintellectual property rights 75
(a) Copyright andrelated rights, including rights ofperformers,
producers ofphonograms andbroadcasting organizations 75
(b) Trade marks, including service marks 76
(c) Geographical indications, including appellations oforigin 76
(d) Industrial designs 76
(e) Protection ofplant varieties 77
(f) Layout-designs ofintegrated circuits 77
(g) Requirements concerning undisclosed information,
including trade secrets andtestdata 77
(h) Anyother categories ofintellectual property 77
3. Measures tocontrol abuse ofintellectual property rights 77
4. Enforcement 78
(a) Civil judicial procedures andremedies 78
(b) Provisional measures 79
(c) Anyadministrative procedures andremedies 79
(d) Anyspecial border measures 80
(e) Criminal procedures 80
5. Laws, decrees, regulations andother legalacts
relating totheabove 80
6. Statistical data 82
VI. TRADE-RELATED SERVICES REGIME 84
1. General 84
2. Policies affecting trade inservices 86WT/ACC/DZA/1
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VII. INSTITUTIONAL BASE FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC
RELATIONS WITH THIRD COUNTRIES 89
1. Bilateral orplurilateral agreements relating toforeign trade
ingoods andtrade inservices 89
(a) Bilateral trade agreements 89
(b) Trade andtariff conventions 89
2. Economic integrations, customs union and
free-trade areaagreements 89
3. Labour market integration agreements 90
4. Multilateral economic cooperation, membership ofmultilateral
economic organizations, trade-related programmes ofother
multilateral organizations 90
(a) Cooperation agreement withtheEuropean Community 91
(b) Treaty establishing theAfrican Economic Community,
signed atAbuja (Nigeria) in1991 91
ANNEX -STATISTICS AND PUBLICATIONS 92WT/ACC/DZA/1
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I. INTRODUCTION
Since regaining itspolitical independence in1962, Algeria has,itistrue,remained formally
outside themultilateral framework oftheGATT and,more recently, thenewWTO. However, ithas
always maintained thetradition ofaneconomy broadly opentointernational trade.
Thistradition ofopenness inthefieldoftradeisclearly apparent, firstofall,intheverylarge
contribution which foreign trade hasalways made tothegross domestic product: inrecent years this
share hasregularly fluctuated around 60percent, afterreaching almost 80percentinthe1970s.
Itisalsoapparent inthequality andstrength ofthetrade relations which Algeria, asboth
importer andexporter, hasalways maintained withalmost allthecountries oftheworld.
Inapplying foraccession totheWorld Trade Organization, Algeria isendeavouring, firstand
foremost, toperpetuate andconfirm thispolicy ofopenness toworld trade. Atthesame time, itis
alsoanxious tomake itsmodest contribution tothestrengthening oftheneworganization andthe
consolidation ofthemultilateral trading system.
Specifically, thetrade policy which Algeria intends topursue hasthree keyobjectives:
- Firstly, thereisthegeneral objective oftrade diversification which involves casting
offtherestrictive roleofbeing almost exclusively anexporter ofmineral products.
Although exports ofvaluable energy resources, suchasoilandgas,willundoubtedly
remain avitalsegment ofAlgeria 'sforeign trade forthenext20or30years, italso
seems increasingly important totakeadvantage oftheacknowledged strength ofthis
underpinning economic activity tobuild additional bridges rather thantorestrict trade
toasingle narrow international specialization. Thus, itisfirmly believed thatthefirst
aimshould betoseekforeign tradeliberalization asaprecondition ofthemedium- and
long-term diversification oftheexport sector.
- Thesecond objective istoraise thegeneral level ofcompetitiveness ofthe
manufacturing sector inorder, inparticular, toprepare ittofaceever-increasing
competition from foreign products, onboththedomestic andexternal markets. The
economic adjustment programmes undertaken inthisconnection, inclosecollaboration
withtheIMFandtheWorld Bank, havealready done much toclear thepath. In
particular, these programmes havefocused ontheremoval ofallnon-tariff barriers
totrade, without anoffsetting riseintheoverall tariff level. Thispolicy willbe
continued withtheprogressive reductions intariffprotection being correlated withthe
improvements intheperformance ofthedomestic manufacturers.
- Finally, thethirdobjective istoestablish control overimports ofagricultural and
foodproducts intended forhome consumption. In1995, these imports, which have
developed amid ageneral context ofdomestic farming inefficiency andhavebeen
encouraged byatrade policy based, inparticular, onanover-valued currency and
consumer subsidies, reached atotalofsome US$2.5 billion. Theincreasingly heavy
pressure ontheforeign trade balances likely tobeexerted inthefuture byexcessive
demand forfoodimports andtheupsets thatcould result fromsudden movements in
theinternational prices ofbasic products willbeafundamental concern ofAlgerian
trade policy intheyears tocome.
Inshort, Algeria considers thattheframework formultilateral negotiations afforded bythe
WTO would assist andgenerally facilitate theachievement ofitsforeign trade objectives.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page2
Above all,itisconvinced thatitsaccession willenable ittoparticipate more effectively in
thegeneral growth ofworld trade towhich thesuccess oftherecent Uruguay Round negotiations will
undoubtedly lendfurther impetus overthenextfewyears.
II. ECONOMY, ECONOMIC POLICIES AND FOREIGN TRADE
1. Economy
(a) General description
Situated inNorth-West Africa, Algeria, withits2,383,741 km.2,isoneofthebiggest countries
ontheAfrican Continent (second largest). Bounded onthenorth bytheMediterranean, ithasacoastline
1,200 kms.longandthusoccupies more thanhalfofthewestern partoftheMediterranean 'ssouthern
shore. Itshares frontiers withMorocco andtheSaharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) tothe
west, Mauritania, MaliandNiger tothesouth, andLibya andTunisia totheeast. Thedesert zones
tothesouth oftheSaharan Atlas mountains occupy fivesixths ofthenational territory andarerich
inminerals, oilandgas.
Thecapital ofAlgeria isAlgiers. Situated inthemiddle ofthecountry, Algiers isbothan
administrative andaneconomic centre.
Algeria isaunitary State. Foradministrative purposes, thenational territory issubdivided
into48wilayat (provinces) and1,541 communes.
These localauthorities arefinancially independent legalentities. Thelawgrants themextensive
powers tomanage theiradministrative affairs andpromote localeconomic development.
Since thecountry achieved political independence in1962, thepopulation ofAlgeria hasgrown
extremely rapidly. Estimated at10.2million in1962, by1January 1966ithadreached 28.8million.
Theaverage annual rateofgrowth, which wasmore than3percentbetween 1962 and1987,
hassince fallen appreciably butremains high, having beenestimated at2.4percentin1995.
Thishighrateofpopulation growth iscreating averystrong social demand formedical care,
education, housing, etc.Inparticular, itisproducing asteady stream ofnewjob-seekers, evaluated
at240,000 peryear.
Economically, Algeria hasgreatpotential interms ofagricultural production, industrial capacity
andoilandmineral wealth. These resources aremaking Algeria animportant economic partner in
North Africa andtheMediterranean Basin:
- Thecountry remains predominantly agricultural, despite thenatural constraints imposed
onagriculture bythenarrowness oftheareasuitable forfarming (3percentofthe
totalareaofthecountry) andbythevagaries oftheclimate andrainfall.
- Inaddition toproducing oilandminerals, Algeria hasarichsubsoil withapotential
which hasnotyetbeenfullyexplored. Thediscovery ofoilinthe1950s opened the
wayforthelarge-scale development ofasector which hasmade apowerful contribution
tothetransformation andexpansion oftheAlgerian economy. However, itisthe
country 'sproven gasreserves which arerelatively most abundant. Overall, the
hydrocarbon sector isbyfarthemost influential branch oftheAlgerian economy.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page3
Foralongtimeithasregularly contributed between 20and30percentofGDP and
accounts for90percentofexports andfrom 40to45percentofState revenue.
- Thecountry hasconsiderable anddiversified capacity inthefieldofheavy industry
(ironandsteel, petrochemicals, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, etc.)andinthe
processing industries. Despite theknown weaknesses oftheindustrial sector, the
prospects foritsrestructuring make itafuture strategic sector oftheAlgerian economy,
considering theextent ofthereserves ofproductivity available.
Apart fromthesevitalsectors oftheeconomy, Algeria hasaconsiderable potential fortourism,
basedonsuchassetsasarichhistoricalheritage,touristcentreswithvariedandhighlydistinctiveclimatic
andgeographical characteristics, andasolid tourism infrastructure.
(b) Current economic situation
Theoverreliance ontheoilandgassectors forfinancing foreign trade andtheState budget
andtheresulting fragility oftheAlgerian economy aswhole became clearly apparent in1986 with
theabrupt fallinprices ontheinternational oilmarket.
Over thenextfewyears, byanalysing theensuing difficulties fortheAlgerian economy and
Algerian society, theeconomic authorities gradually came totheconclusion thattheorganization and
management oftheeconomy needed toberadically transformed inorder tomake thetransition from
anovercentralizedeconomyinwhichinitiativewasstifledbyheavy-handedadministrationtoaneconomy
based onthefreeplayofmarket forces andcompetition, opentotradeandcomprehensively integrated
intotheworld market.
Theconversion programme, which began slowly buthasaccelerated strongly inthelasttwo
years, isreceiving substantial support from theinternational financial institutions (IMF andIBRD)
andother multilateral institutions, from certain economic groupings (European Union) andfrom
industrialized countries. Itsprincipal objectives areliberalizing theeconomy, reducing thesensitivity
ofthemacroeconomicbalancestoexternalstresses,improvingtheperformanceoftheAlgerianproductive
sector andmanaging social constraints onabasis ofsolidarity andfairness.
Thechanges brought about bythisprogramme, inacontext oftighter external financial
constraints, havebeenaccompanied byarelatively weak performance interms ofgrowth. However,
theresults recorded in1995, withagrowth rateofalmost 5percent(substantially greater, forthe
veryfirsttime, thantherateofpopulation increase), holdpromise ofacoming reversal ofthetrend
thanks, inparticular, totherescheduling oftheforeign debt, which hasenabled Algerian enterprises
toobtain thefinancing necessary toimport essential rawmaterials andsupplies.
However, anumber ofserious problems remain tobesolved:
- Thehighbirthrate(in1995itwas2.4percent), which isplacing thesocial programme
under veryheavy andexcessive strain;
- severe unemployment (anemployment rateof25percent), withtheyounger segments
ofthepopulation being thehardest hit;
- theweight ofsocial demand, which isincreasingly stretching theState services and
maintaining aheavy pressure onbudget resources. Aseries ofbudget deficits was
recorded overtheperiod from 1992 to1994. Thedeficit persisted into1995, albeit
atamuch reduced levelthanks toextremely tightmanagement ofthebudget;WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page4
- thelowlevelofefficiency oftheindustrial sector, apart from hydrocarbons, andits
overdependence onimported inputs: thissector, which makes onlypartial useofits
installed capacity (50percentonaverage), isalmost exclusively oriented towards the
domestic market; itdepends onimports totheextent of23percentofitsturnover
while exports represent onlysome 3percentofturnover;
- finally, thehighcostoffoodimports, thebillforwhich in1995 amounted toalmost
US$3 billion. Thesizeofthisbillcanbeattributed asmuch totheweak performance
oftheAlgerian agricultural sector andinadequate localintermediate goods capacity
astotheinconsistencies oftheimport management system. Thisisamajor concern
oftheAlgerian authorities whoarehoping that,inthefuture, itwillbepossible to
redirect some ofthese resources intoinvestment andthedevelopment ofdomestic
production.
2. Economic policies
(a) Main directions andgoals ofeconomic policy
(i) Background
Immediately aftergaining political independence in1962, Algeria hadtoassume immense social
responsibilities, inparticular intheareas ofemployment, education andhealth, onbehalf ofapeople
hardhitbywar,inaddition tothetaskofsetting upeconomic institutions designed toenable itto
mobilize itsresources intheinterests oflong-term economic andsocial development.
Inthesecircumstances, theStatecame tobeassigned apredominant role,forobjective reasons
initially connected withtheconcern torecover control overtheresources ofthenation inorder todevote
them, during the1970s, totheimplementation ofhugepublic investment programmes aimed atcreating
anindustrial basewhich could meet theobjectives ofeconomic andsocial development andthe
furtherance ofnational prosperity.
TheState setitself upasadirect developer andresorted toarigid, excessively centralized
andtotally administered planning system which wasapplied bothtotheallocation ofresources and
totheorganization andoperation oftheprincipal levers controlling thevarious aspects oftheeconomy,
including thepricing system, foreign trade, theforeign exchange regime, credit andincomes.
From 1970 onwards, thisprocess wastounfold inaninternational context characterized by
economic recession inthebigindustrial countries andbyafavourable financial market which encouraged
afeeling thatresources wereplentiful despite thestrong trend towards rising prices andlatent crises
intheworld oilmarket.
Thusorganized, theefforts todevelop theAlgerian economy began byenabling theemergence
ofasizeable industrial baseand,toaconsiderable extent, weretomake itpossible tomeetthebasic
social needs ofthepeople. Theprogramme relied upon extremely highratesofinvestment (40per
centonaverage during the1970s), mainly intheindustrial production andhydrocarbon sectors.
Thisinvestment waschannelled almost exclusively intoState enterprises, private industry
receiving only2percentofthetotal. Inthisinitial phase, thegrowth rates recorded were high,
purchasing power increased andunemployment fellsubstantially.
However, inrelation totherealexpressed economic andsocial needs thisperformance was
stillnotgoodenough andtheadministered andcentralized system ofeconomic management, bygivingWT/ACC/DZA/1
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priority tophysical investment objectives andexcluding thecriteria ofproduction andmanagement
efficiency, encouraged costoverruns andthewastage ofresources andgradually ledtotheemergence
andaggravation ofstructural macroeconomic imbalances, bothinternal andexternal.
Although these structural weaknesses wererecognized andidentified, itwasthesharp fallin
prices ontheinternational oilmarket which brought themintothespotlight and,inparticular, showed
them tobeunsustainable. Infact:
- Theinefficient useofcapital andthelowratesofutilization ofinstalled capacity were
leading tothedeterioration ofthefinancial structure ofthepublic enterprises whose
operating deficits were becoming chronic;
- inagriculture lowyields resulted inanincrease infoodimports. Atthebeginning
ofthe1980s, agricultural production, which usedtomeet93percentofnational needs,
wasabletomeetnomorethan30percent,taking intoaccount theconsiderable increase
inthesizeofthepopulation;
- monetary financing ofthebudget deficit made itsappearance andtookhold: the
economy became progressively more liquid withaconsiderable growth incredit,
intended tocover theaccumulated deficits ofthepublic enterprises andtobalance the
budget;
- finally, andabove all,intheareaofforeign trade, theever-increasing recourse to
imports seriously upset thebalance oftradeingoods andservices, despite asignificant
increase inhydrocarbon export earnings, resulting asmuch fromincreased production
asfrom theriseintheaverage price levelontheinternational oilmarket.
(ii) Thestructural reform oftheAlgerian economy
This wasthecontext foraprogramme ofstructural reform based onatransition from
authoritarian, central andadministrative control oftheeconomy toareliance onmarket forces.
Asystem formaking enterprises, banks andfarms completely autonomous wasintroduced and
supported bythegradual freeing ofprices, theliberalization offoreign tradeandtheforeign exchange
regime, andareform ofthelabour legislation designed tobring greater flexibility intoemployment
contracts andwage bargaining, aswellasconfirming therighttostrike andabolishing theclosed shop.
Theaimofthisreform programme wastostabilize themacroeconomic framework bytaming
domestic inflation andbringing thecapital balance backintoequilibrium. Alawonmoney andcredit
established theinstitutional framework forthisstabilization: independence fortheCentral Bank in
theconduct ofmonetary policy, theinternal stability ofthecurrency, demonetization ofthedomestic
public debt, andtherestructuring ofbankportfolios.
However, oneofthedifficulties encountered bythisreform programme, launched in1988,
wasanextremely tenseexternal situation inwhich theburden ofservicing theforeign debtwassharply
restricting thecapacity tosupply theproductive apparatus andpreventing anyserious recovery in
investment andgrowth.
In1989, thecostofservicing theAlgerian foreign debtrepresented 78percentofannual export
earnings andtheaverage repayment period wasonlythree years. Inorder todealwiththisproblem,
theauthorities applied tothecreditors forvoluntary refinancing, rather thanseeking amultilateral
rescheduling ofthedebt.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Tosumup,although significant progress wasmade intheareas ofprice reform andcontrol
ofinflationary pressures ofmonetary origin, in1992-1993 theprocess began toslowdown. External
constraints anddomestic social pressures ledtothereappearance oftrade andcurrency restrictions,
accompanied byrecourse tothebudgetary financing ofsocial needs andaresumption ofmonetary
financing ofthebudget deficits.
Thedevelopment ofmajor financial imbalances during these twoyears andthetightening of
external financial constraints induced theAlgerian authorities toresume andspeed uptheirefforts to
achieve macroeconomic stabilization, starting in1994, within theframework ofaneconomic programme
supported byaStand-By Arrangement withtheInternational Monetary Fund.
(iii) Thestand-by programme (April 1994-March 1995)
Thisprogramme hasmade itpossible toopenuptheAlgerian economy more fullytotheworld
economy andtoorganize animproved response totheneeds ofthepeople.
Thus, major reforms wereintroduced, inparticular, theabolition ofquantitative restrictions
onmerchandise imports, thedismantling oftheprocedures fortheadministrative allocation offoreign
exchange, theextension ofthefreepricing regime tomostproducts andthereduction ofsubsidies on
foodandenergy products.
Atthemacroeconomic level, theprogramme ismaking itpossible tohalttherecession and
control inflation thanks tofar-reaching budget adjustment andasharp tightening ofmonetary policy.
Thismacroeconomic stabilization isbacked byarigorous wage policy, significantly higher
interest ratesandarealignment ofrelative prices through asubstantial devaluation ofthedinar.
Theadjustment oftheexchange ratehasbeenfollowed byaprogressive transition fromarigid
foreign exchange regime toaflexible regime determined byacurrency market.
Alltheseimportant economic reforms havebeencarried outinthefaceofaverydifficult social
situation. They havebeenmade possible byaconstructive dialogue withthesocial partners, aradical
reorganization ofthewelfare system and,inparticular, thebroad support oftheinternational financial
community, especially intheform ofarescheduling ofthecountry 'sforeign debt.
Despite thissubstantial progress, theAlgerian economy remains besetbynumerous fundamental
problems. These include, inparticular, theoverdependence onthehydrocarbon sector, which accounts
foralmost allAlgeria 'sexport earnings, andthestillexcessive burden imposed byahighdebt-service/
exports ratio. These twomajor constraints constitute anobstacle tostrong economic growth, alone
capable ofreducing anincreasingly intolerable levelofyouth unemployment andmeeting thecountry 's
other needs, particularly forhousing.
TheAlgerian authorities consider that,basically, thereturn ofstrong growth isstilllinked
withthecompletion ofthetaskofeconomic stabilization andhaveaccordingly decided toextend the
structural adjustment programme forafurther period ofthree years.
(iv) Objectives ofthemedium-term economic programme
Theaimofthisprogramme, which isbeing supported bytheInternational Monetary Fund
onthebasis ofanextended facility agreement, istocontinue andextend theefforts already begun to
stabilizethemacroeconomicframework,introducestructuralreformsandgiveanewimpetustoeconomic
growth, withastrong emphasis onemployment andhousing.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Thus, itisproposed toachieve, inparticular, thefollowing objectives:
- Anincrease ofatleast5percentinproduction, excluding theoilandgassector, over
thenextthree years, withastrong emphasis onjobcreation. Priority istobegiven,
inparticular, toagriculture, theconstruction ofhousing andsmall andmedium-sized
industrial enterprises, aswellastotheadaptation ofthewelfare system withaview
tocushioning theimpact oftheadjustments onthemost vulnerable social groups;
- thecontinuationofthepricestabilizationandexchangeratemeasuresalreadyundertaken,
withtheaimofachieving theconvergence oftheinflation rateonthatofAlgeria 's
principal trading partners. Thiswillhelptoreduce theelement ofuncertainty inthe
negotiations withthesocial partners andtoimprove thecompetitiveness ofthenational
economy atatimewhen itisopening uptotheworld market;
- aprogressive reduction inthedeficit onthecurrent account, which should fallfrom
6.9percentofGDP in1994-1995 to2.2percentin1997-1998, together withalevel
ofimports consistent withtheobjectives established interms ofeconomic growth;
- aprogressive increase inthecontribution ofdomestic savings tothefinancing of
investment andanimprovement ininvestment efficiency. Itisexpected thatbetween
1995 and1998 domestic savings willincrease byabout 5percentage points interms
ofGDP, thanks mainly tothecontinuation ofthegovernment 'sefforts torestrict the
growth ofitscurrent expenditure. Thiswillmake possible animproved redistribution
ofresources totheproductive sector calculated tosupport overall household
consumption;
- anincrease intheaccumulation offixed capital, ataratesimilar tothatoftheGDP,
withareorientation towards non-hydrocarbon productive investment made possible
bythetightcontrol ofpublic expenditure oninfrastructure andagradual reduction
inhydrocarbon investment astheprogramme ofexpansion ofgasexport capacity is
completed.Thesedevelopmentswillbeaccompaniedbyanincreaseinnon-hydrocarbon
investment efficiency thanks totheconvergence ofrelative prices ontheirequilibrium
levelandtheincreasingopeningoftheeconomytoforeigncompetitionandparticipation.
(v) Economic andsocial development policy
Today, theAlgerian economy isfaced withimportant choices which itmust make inorder
tobeabletoenter the21stcentury under conditions thatpermit itsharmonious integration intothe
world economy.
Thiswillrequire therestoration oftheconditions necessary forstrong andsustainable growth
andtheelimination oftheaccumulated imbalances stemming from theperformance ofthesystem of
production andthehandling ofthesocial demand. Thus, economic growth isessential tolighten the
burden ofunemployment andgradually raisethegeneral standard ofliving ofthepopulation.
Withrespect tothese constraints, some sectors willhavetobegiven absolute priority because
oftheirimportance asengines ofeconomic growth: housing, because ofitsknock-on effects andstrong
influence onshort-term jobcreation andtoalleviate theacute crisis prevailing inthatsector; and
agriculture, inorder tomeetthefoodrequirements ofthepeople, reduce dependence onimports and
check theflight from thecountryside.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page8
Asfarastheexternal balances areconcerned, theaimistoguarantee thelong-term viability
ofthebalance ofpayments, thanks tothespecial contribution oftheoilandgassector butalsotothe
anticipated development ofexports inother sectors and,finally, theorganization ofareasonable debt
service schedule.
Furthermore, themanagement oftheinternal balances willrequire, onthepartoftheTreasury,
thecontinuous maintenance ofasurplus thatwillhelp, firstly, tostabilize theeconomy butalsoto
finance growth byreleasing theresources needed torevitalize investment.
(vi) Programme ofprivatization ofpublic enterprises
Ingeneral, Algerian public enterprises aremanaged onthesame basis asprivate enterprises.
They operate inaccordance withtherules ofprivate lawandaresubject totheordinary rules ofthe
Commercial Code.
Thus, since1988, theStatehasbeenalmost totally relieved ofresponsibility forthemanagement
ofthese enterprises. Anumber ofthem (23enterprises) which areexperiencing serious structural
imbalances arethesubject ofaspecific reorganization andrestructuring programme supported in1994
bytheWorld Bank.
Moreover, aprivatization Order anditsimplementing regulations wereadopted in1995. An
initial privatization programme, based onthisOrder, istobelaunched atthebeginning of1996. It
willcomprise:
- Theselling-off of60localpublic enterprises;
- theoffer of78other localpublic enterprises toberunasconcessions;
- theselling-off of50national enterprise units;
- theprivatization offivehotel enterprises;
- thewinding upof84localpublic enterprises.
Incarrying outthisprogramme various formulas authorized bythelawwillbeemployed:
transfer ofassets, disposal ofequity ormanagement contracts.
Thisprogramme, however, isonlytheprelude toamuch longer-term operation. Infact,the
Government 'ssubsequent policy willbeprogressively towithdraw from allthecompetitive sectors.
Thesectors initially concerned willbepublic works andhydraulic engineering, hotels and
tourism, trade anddistribution, mechanical, electrical andelectronic engineering, wood andwood
products, paper, chemicals, plastics, leather, roadtransport, insurance, portandairport services and,
finally, building design andconstruction.
(b) Monetary policy andinterest rates
Since April 1994, monetary policy hasbeenbased onasharp riseintheinterest ratesapplied
tobankrefinancing within acontext ofliberalization ofinterbank money market rates.
Thisreadjustment oftheinterest-rate structure hasmade itpossible toassimilate thepriceeffect
inherent inthesubstantial exchange-rate adjustment, including the40percentdevaluation inApril 1994.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page9
Thestrict conduct ofmonetary policy, combined withtheprudent implementation ofthe
stabilization programme, hasmade itpossible tocheck inflation, which wasestimated at29percent
in1994. Inparticular, theM2aggregate money supply grewbyonly15.8percent,while basicmoney
stabilized between March andDecember 1994.
Correlativelywiththeeffectoftheexchangerateadjustment,businessloansincreasedby32.2per
centin1994.
Ingeneral, thesixpoint fallintheliquidity ratioin1994ascompared with1993bears witness
totheprogress made intheareaofmonetary stabilization.
Theintroduction ofthelegalreserve, inthefourth quarter of1994, made itpossible tobegin
thetransition toindirect instruments ofmonetary policy, while stimulating themanagement ofbank
liquidity, inconjunction withflexibility inthedetermination ofexchange rates bymeans offixing
sessions.
Thechange inmonetary policy instruments, withtheemergence oftheroleofindirect
instruments, wasconsolidated inMay1995 bytheintroduction ofatender system forallocating
refinancing credit.
Tendering forrefinancing credit hasintroduced acertain amount ofcompetition asregards
recourse tothelender oflastresort, particularly astherelative importance ofthismode ofrefinancing
hasincreased tosuchanextent thatattheendofDecember 1995 itrepresented 66percentofthe
resources allocated bytheBank ofAlgeria through itsintervention onthemoney market.
Thus, in1995, withtheexpansion oftheinterbank market, themoney market began toplay
amore important partintheallocation ofrefinancing resources.
Moreover, inthefourth quarter of1995theswitch inmonetary policy instruments wascarried
astage further withtheauctioning oftreasury bills.
Theflexibility oftheinterest ratesestablished onthemoney market, asananchor point for
theconduct ofastrict monetary policy, hashelped toeasethetensions intheareaofbankliquidity
inherent inthebalance-of-payments shock.
Despite thesharp increase inbusiness loans, namely 85percentin1995, duetounfavourable
external factors, therateofexpansion ofthemoney supply was10.5percentin1995asagainst 15.8per
centin1994. Thegrowth inbasic money roseto7.6percentin1995. Thedeclining trend inthe
ratesofmonetary expansion wascombined withstabilization oftherateofprice inflation, which was
29percentfortheyear1995, thesame asin1994.
Thecontrol ofinflation continued tobeanobjective ofmonetary policy. Further efforts have
beenmade toachieve monetary stabilization withaviewtothetotalliberalization ofthebanks 'lending
interest rates.
Thus, since December 1995, theceiling imposed onbankmargins hasbeenabolished. This
isintended tostimulate interest rateformation onacompetitive basisandtodevelop stable long-term
savings.
Theanticipated expansion oftheroleofrefinancing credit auctions willcontribute tothe
development ofacredit market thatwillprovide thefoundation forasound bankportfolio.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page10
Atthesame time, thedevelopment ofagovernment securities market, linked, inparticular,
withthemanagement ofthepublic debt, willmake itpossible toconduct open-market operations in
1996.
Asanindirect instrument ofmonetary policy, theopenmarket willensure more active liquidity
management.
Thetrend towards theemergence ofindirect instruments ofmonetary policy isconsistent with
theobjective ofpositive realinterest rates.
(c) Foreign-exchange regime andliberalization offoreign trade
Theliberalization offoreign trade andtheforeign-exchange regime wasbegun inApril 1994
within theframework ofthestabilization programme. The40-per-cent devaluation ofthenational
currency, which tookplace atthattime, provided thefoundation foraflexible exchange-rate policy
supported bytherigorous pursuit ofappropriate monetary andfinancial policies.
Theintroduction, inSeptember 1994, ofdaily fixing sessions confirmed thetransition from
afixed exchange-rate regime totheincreased flexibility ofanexchange ratedetermined byauction.
Theliberalization ofimports wassteadily pursued in1994 andcompleted bythebeginning
of1995, despite theappearance ofstresses ontheforeign-exchange market duetounfavourable external
factors.
There isnowfullconvertibility forcurrent transactions, withtheexception offoreign travel
expenses.
Aninterbank foreign-exchange market wasestablished atthebeginning ofJanuary 1996.
Moreover, foreign exchange controls willbeincreasingly applied onadecentralized basis,
atthelevelofthebanks andotherapproved intermediaries. Thus, theproceeds fromexports ofproducts
other thanoil,gasandoresarebeing repatriated directly ontheinterbank exchange market and50per
centarebeing soldonthatmarket. Theforeign currency resources resulting fromthesesalesrepresent,
intheinitial phase, thebulkoftheresources leftatthedisposal ofthebanks andfinancial institutions.
Theinterbank exchange market involves cashandterm transactions, between approved
intermediaries, whereas theCentral Bank intervenes onlyincashtransactions. Theexchange rateof
thedinar isdetermined ontheinterbank exchange market, withapproved intermediaries taking an
increasingly active part. Itreached 54.11 dinars totheUSdollar attheendofApril 1996, against
abackground ofincipient exchange-rate stabilization.
Theanticipated expansion oftheforeign currency resources oftheapproved intermediaries
andtheincreasing number ofparticipants willcontribute totheefficient allocation offoreign currency
resources ontheinterbank exchange market. Thedevelopment ofthismarket willbesupported by
theestablishment ofrulesfortheprudential monitoring ofexchange positions, withaviewtoincreased
liberalization ofcapital movements andtotalconvertibility ofthedinar.
(d) Investment promotion policies
Thebasis ofthepolicy forencouraging investment isthebasic lawonthepromotion of
investment (Ordinance of5October 1995).WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page11
Thisgeneralpieceoflegislationabolishesthenumerouspreviousregimes,butleavestheacquired
benefits intact.
Itlaysdown thegeneral principles andestablishes thelegalframework andtherulesapplicable
toinvestment.
Italsopursues specific regional andeconomic integration objectives under various regimes.
Thus, thedetermination oftheexemption periods andtheprecise range ofbenefits granted
depend onconsiderations relating toemployment, thedevelopment oftechnology andlocalresources,
regional balance andnational development.
(i) General principles
TheOrder givesaliberal definition ofinvestment covering anyactivity involving theproduction
ofgoods orservices.
Italsoguarantees thatanynatural orjuridical person, ofpublic orprivate law,resident or
non-resident, shallbefreetoinvest. Moreover, theOrder:
- Guarantees thetransfer ofinvested capital, aswellasallincome, dividends andinterest
produced;
- regulates thegranting ofincentives onthebasisofasimple declaration ofinvestment
andapplication forbenefits;
- treats theforeign investor inexactly thesame wayasthedomestic investor;
- establishes thebasic rules forcompensation intheevent ofexpropriation;
- allows forappeal tointernational arbitration, intheevent ofdisputes.
Inaddition tothese internal provisions, thelawalsostrengthens theconfidence offoreign
investors byrecognizing theguarantees offered bymultilateral andbilateral investment protection
conventions.
Inthisconnection, Algeria hasratified aseries ofarrangements, inparticular theSeoul (MIGA),
Washington (ICSID) andNewYork Conventions.
TheimplementationofthispolicyofencouraginginvestmenthasbeenentrustedtoaGovernment
agency known astheInvestment Promotion, Support andMonitoring Agency (APSI), which hasbeen
given special prerogatives withrespect tothegranting oftaxconcessions. Aswellasbeing acomponent
ofthelegislative apparatus andaninstitutional cornerstone, APSI alsoprovides investors withtechnical
assistance andinformation, inparticular through its"single window".
(ii) Incentive regimes
TheOrder andsubsequent textsprovide fortheapplication ofsixinvestor incentive regimes:
- Thegeneral regime, forinvestment inregions oreconomic zones enjoying relative
economic expansion;WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page12
- thespecial zoneregime, which applies toinvestment inregions andcommunes with
alowlevelofeconomic integration;
- theso-called "Seconde Couronne" regime, forthecentral regions separating thenorth
ofthecountry from thesouth;
- thedeepsouth regime, which applies toinvestment inthefourwilayat (departments)
inthesouth ofthecountry;
- thefreezoneregime, forinvestment infreezones notsubject tothedomestic taxand
customs regimes;
- theagreement regime, forinvestments ofstrategic importance, which isgranted by
theState totheinvestor onthebasis ofaspecific agreement.
Under allthese regimes, thesystem ofincentives covers boththeperiod ofrealization and
theperiod ofexploitation oftheinvestment, inaccordance withthedefinitions andvariations directly
established bytheLaw.
(e) Price andcompetition policies
Since theendofthe1980s, theAlgerian authorities havebeenfollowing aprice policy whose
central objective hasbeentorestore tothemarket theprimary roleinthedetermination ofprices.
Thisobjective hasbeenpursued withgreat tenacity, despite anextremely difficult economic
andsocial context.
Itshould benoted thattheprice system previously applied created numerous distortions, to
thedetriment oftheentire economy.
Infact:
- Inthelongrun,alltheeconomic operators were severely penalized bythemore or
lessgeneral practice ofdirect price-fixing bythecentral administration. Theresults
turned outtobeverydifferent from theformal objectives. Freezing prices actually
hurttheenterprises, which accumulated deficits, theTreasury, which wasobliged to
grantlargesubsidies, andtheconsumers, whosuffered fromthechronic disorganization
ofthemarket;
- despite occasional sharp increases, onbothdomestic andforeign markets, thefreezing
oftheprices ofmostgoods andservices, together withthesystem ofimplicit subsidies,
created astrong bottled-up pressure forreadjustments, thusleading totheprogressive
development oftheinformal economy;
- awidening gapdeveloped between therealcostandthepriceofthegoods andservices
openly subsidized bytheState andthis,inaddition toanincreasingly serious impact
onthebudget,producedsuchundesirableeffectsaswasteandover-consumption,swollen
imports andfraudulent re-exportation.
Themainthrust ofthereform ofthepricesystem introduced in1989wasgradually tosubstitute
"theprinciple offreedom ofprices" andtransactions forprices thatwere administratively fixed.
Decisions concerning prices were tobegradually transferred from thegovernment toenterprises.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page13
Twoprice regimes were therefore established:
- theregulated priceregime which initially applied tomostmarketed goods andservices.
Thisregime wasintended formally toorganize thevarious modes ofprice regulation
before prices were gradually freed;
- thefreepriceregime. Initially, thisregime wasapplied toaverysmall range ofgoods
andservices. Ithassince beengradually extended tothewhole economy. Infact,
whereas in1989 only10percentofgoods andservices wereeligible, today onlyan
extremely small number ofproducts (milk, semolina, flour, medicines) stillremain
uncovered, because oftheirconsiderable social importance.
Thepractice ofsubsidization hasbeensharply curtailed andthesystem hasbeengradually
dismantled. In1996, onlypasteurized milkisstillsubsidized toalimited extent.
Thisgradualdismantlingofbudgetarypricesupportsubsidiesalsoextendstotheimplicitsubsidies
granted tocertain specific products noteligible forbudgetary support, whose domestic prices were
fixedatlevels below theinternational economic cost. Thiswasthecasewithpetroleum products, gas,
electricity andwater.
However thismaybe,itisintended tospeed upthecomplete liberalization ofallprices in
1996 and1997 andeliminate most oftherestrictions in1998.
Theimportant results achieved intheareaofliberalization oftheprices ofgoods andservices
gohand inhand withacomplete transformation ofthesystem oforganization oftheeconomy. In
particular, trade andindustry aretobetotally free,themanagement ofpublic enterprises istobe
normalized, theyaretobemade subject totheuniversal rulesofthecommercial code, andallstatutory
monopolies andexclusive arrangements aretobeabolished.
These developments aregradually creating anewsituation inwhich enterprises enjoy complete
economic freedom, andtheGovernment isbusydrawing upalawoncompetition essentially intended
toprotect thefreedom oftheeconomic operators byestablishing rulestogovern therelations between
them andsetting upmachinery tomonitor compliance withthose rules. Thisisthebasic objective
ofthenewlawoncompetition promulgated inJanuary 1995.
Thislawintroduces asystem forcontrolling andprotecting competition based onthefollowing
principles:
- Freepricing isthegeneral ruleandthedetermination ofprices bytheState isan
exception applicable onlyinunusual situations orspecial circumstances;
- anti-competitive practices andabuses areclearly defined andexpressly prohibited.
Thisapplies,inparticular,toallpracticesaimedatrestrictingmarketaccessordistorting
thefreeplayofcompetition, atfrustrating thedetermination ofprices bythefree
operation ofthemarket, atrestricting orcontrolling production, investment, markets
ortechnical progress or,finally, atplacing anenterprise orgroup ofenterprises in
adominant position;
- allabuses andrestrictive practices areidentified asoffences andprohibited. These
practices involve, inparticular, creating captive markets, restricting theinformation
available totheconsumer, refusing tosell,andtiedordiscriminatory sales.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page14
Thebodies responsible forsupervising competition andensuring compliance withtherules
are,inaddition toaCompetition Council expressly established bythelawforthatpurpose, the
competition andprice services oftheDepartment ofTrade and,finally, thecompetent courts.
TheCompetition Council consists ofjudges, competition experts andeconomists. Ithasa
triple function:
- Toadvise thelegislative andexecutive branches onallmatters relating tocompetition
anditsdevelopment;
- tosupervise competition andinvestigate andpunish anyinfringements oftherules.
Thedecisions oftheCompetition Council canbeappealed totheCourt ofAlgiers;
- tostudy anddoresearch oncompetition andtrade practices.
Theprocess begun within theframework ofthislawisresulting intheexplicit application of
freecompetition, withobservance oftherules offairtrading andbusiness transparency.
Current efforts aredirected towards developing competition inallthose activities where ithas
beenlacking, extending itwhere ithasbeenrestricted, andprotecting itwhere italready exists.
Itisintended thatthecompetition mechanisms introduced intotheAlgerian economy willbe
graduallyreinforced,instepwiththeemergenceofaspiritofinitiativeandenterprisebroadlyencouraged
bytheremoval ofallrestrictions andpriorcontrols oninvestment, imports, production anddistribution.
Today, enterprises must playbytherules ofthemarket. Restraining action willbetaken against
businesses whose anti-competitive practices areobstructing thefreeoperation ofthemarket.
3. Foreign trade ingoods andservices
(a) Trade ingoods
(i) Global trend
Inthelast10years, thedevelopment ofAlgeria 'sforeign tradehasbeenmarked bythecollapse
ofoilandgasprices andthedepreciation oftheUnited States dollar, thecurrency inwhich 95per
centofitsexports arepriced.
Theforeign traderesults for1995arecharacterized byaconsiderable increase inglobal value
from 18.3to20.6billion dollars, almost 12.5percentmore thanin1994, mainly because ofajoint
increase of15percent inexports (+1.329 billion dollars) and10.3 percent inimports
(+968 million dollars)
(ii) Trade balance
Insurplus since 1990, in1995 forthesecond yearinsuccession thetrade balance recorded
adeficit. Admittedly, thisdeficit waslessthanthatoftheprevious year(US$173 million in1995
ascompared withUS$533 million in1994).
Thisreduction ofthetradedeficit reflected theefforts made tobring theexternal balances under
control, taking intoaccount thedifficulties associated withtheadverse trend intheservices balance.
Thisresult wasmade possible byasubstantial increase inexports ofenergy products, thefruitofheavyWT/ACC/DZA/1
Page15
investment inthatsector since 1993, thanks inparticular tothebroader opening ofthesectoral
development programme toforeign participation.
In1995, 98.3percentofimports werecovered byexports, ascompared with94.3percent
in1994.
Taking intoconsideration theforeign tradegrowth forecasts, thistrendbackintobalance should
continue.
(iii) Exchange rate
Theaverage dollar exchange raterosefrom DA24.37 in1993 toDA36.32 in1994 and
DA49.24 in1995, i.e.inthelasttwoyears theAlgerian dinar depreciated bysome 35.57 percent,
while thevalue oftheUnited States dollar increased byDA12.92.
InApril 1996, theaverage exchange ratestood atDA56tothedollar.
(iv) Export trends
Incurrent United States dollars, f.o.b. exports were worth US$10.227 billion in1995 as
compared with12.8billion in1984 andover14billion in1980. Theheaviest decline came during
theperiod 1986/89, withexport earnings ofbetween US$7.8 and9.5billion.
Oilandgasremained themostimportant itemin1995withavalue equivalent to95.5percent
ofexport earnings ascompared with96.7percentin1994.
Oilandgasexport earnings rosefromUS$8.606 billion in1994toUS$9.769 billion in1995
i.e.anincrease of13.5percent.
Itisalsoworth noting thealmost 56percentincrease innon-hydrocarbon exports in1995,
when theywere worth US$457.5 million ascompared withUS$293 million in1994.
Theshare ofnon-hydrocarbon exports intotalexports rosefrom3.3percentin1994to4.5per
centin1995.
Thestructure ofAlgerian exports, characterized bythepredominance ofoilandgas,indicates
theextent oftheefforts made topromote non-hydrocarbon exports andbreak away fromdependence
onasingle source ofincome, theprice ofwhich depends entirely ontheupsanddowns ofthe
international market.
(v) Import trends
Themeasures toliberalize foreign tradehavebeenaboonforimports, triggering growth made
possible bythegreater availability ofthemeans ofpayment forforeign purchases resulting from the
agreement onastructural adjustment programme andtheforeign debtrescheduling agreements.
Thus, imports rosefrom US$9.4 billion in1994 to10.4billion in1995, i.e.anincrease of
10.3percent. Theindividual items which recorded anincrease inimport value were:
- Rawmaterials andsemi-finished products: imports rosefrom US$2.845 billion to
3.549 billion, i.e.anincrease of24.6percent(about US$700 million). Thisindicates
increased procurement bytheproductive sector andhence arevival inproduction.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page16
rawmaterials andsemi-finished products represented 34.1percentoftotalimports
for1995;
- capital goods: imports ofagricultural equipment remained weak (US$40 million),
compared withindustrial equipment (US$2.576 billion), which roseabout 2.7percent
(US$68 million) in1995;
- consumer goods: up25.3 percentin1995 (orabout US$310 million) toreach
US$1.535 billion, ascompared with1.225 billion in1994.
(vi) Geographical distribution oftrade
Bygeographical region, Europe remains Algeria 'sprincipal trading partner with62.8percent
offoreign trade in1995, which washigher thaninthepreceding year(58.2 percent). Thistrade was
worth US$12.5 billion, US$12 billion (96percent) ofwhich waswiththeEuropean Union.
North America came second, with17.7percentoftrade worth US$3.4 billion.
Asiaoccupied thirdplace, with6percentoftrade worth US$680 million.
South America wasfourth, with3percentoftrade worth US$576 million.
TradewithAfrica,whichrepresents2.2percentofthetotal,oraboutUS$439million,continued
togrow onlyslowly, particularly bearing inmind that90.4percentofAlgeria 'strade withAfrica
iswithother members oftheArab Maghreb Union (AMU).
Finally, theArab countries represent 0.8percentoftrade withavalue ofUS$162 million.
Atthebilateral level, France remains Algeria 'sforemost supplier with25percentofAlgerian
imports, followed bytheUnited States (12.1 percent), Italy(10percent) andSpain (9percent).
In1995,ItalybecameAlgeria'sforemostcustomerwith22percentofAlgerianexports,followed
bytheUnited States (16.8 percent) andFrance (14.4 percent).
(b) Foreign trade inservices
Global trend
Foreign trade inservices ischaracterized byanirregular up-and-down trend against the
background ofasharp devaluation ofthenational currency whose average exchange ratewiththe
USdollar wasDA50tothedollar in1995 ascompared withDA8.96in1990.
Infact,ithasnotproved possible toexceed thetrade levelfor1990 (US$2.570 billion), and
theprovisional results for1995(US$2.394 billion) tendtoconfirm thetrendtowards relative stagnation.
Thesharpest decline intradewasrecorded in1991(-19.5 percent), while themostsignificant
increase was11.4percentin1992. In1995, trade inservices increased by6.7percent.
There hasalsobeenacontinuous, though modest increase inthecontribution offoreign trade
inservices togross domestic product. Thiscontribution rosefrom 4.2percentin1990 to6.2per
centin1995.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page17
Imports ofservices
Liketheglobal tradeinservices, imports havebeenunstable, fluctuating between US$1.4 billion
(in1994) and1.8billion (in1990). Thebiggest increase overtheperiod wasrecorded in1995, namely
14.7percent(US$1.655 billion).
Exports ofservices
Exports ofservices havealsotended tofluctuate, although atlevels considerably lower than
those forimports, overtherange from US$500 million (in1991) to800million (in1994). Infact,
the1990level(US$770 million) wasnotexceeded until1994when exports reached US$804 million,
anincrease of9.2percent.
Thebiggest increase wasin1992 (+30.5 percent) andthesharpest fallin1991 (-26.2 per
cent).
Services balance
Since imports haveregularly exceeded exports, theservices balance hasnaturally recorded
apersistent deficit ranging between US$600 million andUS$1,030 million, thefigures for1994 and
1990 respectively. In1995, thedeficit amounted toUS$925 million.
Statistics onForeign Trade inServices
Trend ofForeign Trade inServices
(inmillions ofUSdollars)
Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (provisional)
Imports 1,800 1,500 1,563 1,700 1,443 1,655.6
Exports 770 568.5 742 736 804 729.6
Total 2,570 2,068.5 2,305 2,436 2,247 2,385.2
Balance -1,030 -931.5 -821 -964 -639 -925
Trend ofForeign Trade inServices, Year onYear, Since 1990
Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (provisional)
Imports - -16.7% +4.2% +8.8% -15.1% +14.7%
Exports - +26.2% +30.5% -0.8% +9.2% -9.3%
Total - -19.5% +11.4% +5.7% -7.8% +6.5%WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page18
Contribution ofForeign Trade inServices toGross Domestic Product (GDP)
Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (provisional)
Foreign trade inservices 4.7% 5.1% 5.5% 5.6% 6.2% 6.2%
Source: ONS.
Foreign Trade inServices (Provisional) byMain Sector, 1995
(inmillions ofUSdollars)
Services sector Exports Imports Balance
Value %oftotalexports Value %oftotalexports
Transport 245.0 33.6 624.0 37.7 -379
Travel 24.0 3.3 182.0 11.0 -158
Communications 1.62 0.2 8.92 0.5 -7.30
Public works 2.3 0.3 243.0 14.7 -240.7
Insurance 5.75 0.8 61.4 3.7 -55.65
Financial 22.3 3.0 63.9 3.9 -41.6
Information 0.15 4.0 0.2 -3.85
Royalties/fees/
licences 4.3 0.2 -4.3
Other business
services 83.0 11.4 116.7 7.1 -33.7
Personal/cultural/
leisure1.33 0.1 -1.33
Public services
(N.I.E.) 345.5 47.4 345.0 20.9 +0.5
Total services 729.6 100 1,654.6 100 -925
Source: Bank ofAlgeria.
4. Domestic trade inservices
Thevalue ofdomestic tradeinservices amounted toUS$3 billion in1994, 60percentofwhich
wasaccounted forbyprivate sector activities.
(a) Trends indomestic trade inservices
Theaverage annual growth raterecorded since1990is28percent,reflecting aconsistent pattern
ofexpansion.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page19
Domestic tradeinservices hasaccounted formorethan20percentofthegross domestic product
since 1990. Thegrowth invalue hasbeenaccompanied byasteady increase intheimportance of
domestic trade inservices, from 21.7percentin1991 to24percentin1994. Provisional results
for1995 point toalevelof23percent.
(b) Breakdown ofdomestic trade inservices bymain areas ofactivity andbysector
Thegeneral trend since 1990 hasremained substantially unaltered andtheprovisional results
for1995 show thefollowing breakdown:
- Trade 49%
- Tourism 5%
- Business services 6%
- Postal andtelecommunication services 22%
- Transport andtransport aids 12%
- Household services 6%
Itwillbenoted thattheprivate sector, which hasgrown steadily, accounting forbetween 60
and65percentofthetotalvalue ofdomestic tradeinservices since1990, occupies adominant position,
particularly inthefollowing areas: trade (55percent), tourism (85percent)andhousehold services
(97percent).
5. Information onfinancial movements related tonationals working abroad
Theshare oftransfers byAlgerian workers whohavesettled abroad, mainly inEurope, has
fallen gradually since theendofthe1970s.
Transfers byAlgerians fromforeign countries amounted toUS$300 million in1995, compared
withclose toUS$1 billion in1980.
6. Information ongrowth intradeingoods andservices overrecent years andforecasts foryears
tocome
Invalue-added terms, thegrowth ofdomestic trade inservices hasbeenmuch greater than
thatofdomestic trade ingoods. Thisisbroadly reflected inacomparison oftheaverage growth rates
overtheperiod 1990-1995, which show anaverage increase of28percentforservices, asagainst
22percentforgoods.
Thistrend indomestic trade isidentical totheoneobserved atinternational level, where
economic growth isincreasingly driven bytheservices sector, particularly since thegoods trade has
beenhardhitbydifficulties inreviving output, asaresult ofgreater exposure totherigours ofthe
market place, given thepersistence ofstructural imbalances inthenational economy.
Much higher levels ofgrowth areforecast forthefiveyears ahead, taking intoaccount the
objectives ofthefive-year economic recovery programme, which emphasize stricter management of
macroeconomic balances, tobeachieved inparticular through:WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page20
- Asubstantial increase inforeign tradeingoods, withexports expected toreach alevel
ofUS$16 billion (US$14 billion forenergy products andUS$2 billion for
non-hydrocarbon exports), while imports should come close toUS$15 billion;
- themaintenance ofareasonable levelofexternal debtservicing;
- arevitalization ofinvestment, backed upbytheprivatization programme currently
being finalized.
III. FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES AFFECTING FOREIGN
TRADE
1. Powers ofexecutive, legislative andjudicial branches ofgovernment
Thereforms undertaken inAlgeria inrecent years relate totheeconomic, social andpolitical
lifeofthecountry.
Aseries ofmeasures havebeenadopted intheeconomic field, withtheaimofstreamlining
thesystem ofnational production, perfecting production management methods andadapting thesystem
tointernational economic andtechnical changes.
TheConstitution of23February 1989 confirmed theseparation oftheexecutive, legislative
andjudicial branches ofgovernment.
(a) TheExecutive
Asfarastheexecutive isconcerned, thePresident oftheRepublic, asHead ofState elected
forfiveyears, personifies "theunity ofthenation ...Hepersonifies theState athome andabroad
(Article 67). Heexercises thefunctions ofthehighest office within thelimits laiddown bythe
Constitution (Article 69)".
Apart from thepowers expressly conferred onhimbyother constitutional provisions, the
President oftheRepublic enjoys thefollowing powers andprerogatives:
- Hedecides andconducts theforeign policy oftheNation;
- heappointsandrecallsAmbassadorsandenvoysextraordinaryoftheRepublictoforeign
countries;
- hereceives letters ofaccreditation orrecall inrespect offoreign diplomatic
representatives;
- heconcludes andratifies international treaties (Article 74).
TheHead ofGovernment presents themembers oftheGovernment hehasselected tothe
President oftheRepublic forappointment bythelatter.
TheHead ofGovernment draws uphisprogramme which hesubmits totheCouncil ofMinisters
(Article 75).
TheHead ofGovernment submits hisprogramme totheParliamentary Assembly forapproval.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page21
Apart fromthepowers expressly conferred onhimbyother constitutional provisions, theHead
ofGovernment exercises thefollowing functions:
- Heallocates duties tothemembers oftheGovernment, withduerespect forthe
provisions oftheConstitution;
- hepresides overtheGovernment Council;
- hemonitors theimplementation oflawsandregulations;
- hesigns executive decrees, etc.
(b) TheLegislature
Legislative power isexercised byasingle assembly which elaborates andadopts lawsona
sovereign basis. Itsupervises Government action. Therighttoinitiate legislation isvested conjointly
intheHead ofGovernment andthemembers oftheLegislative Assembly.
TheAssembly legislates inthefields assigned toitbytheConstitution.
Other matters coming within thescope oflegislation are:
- Theconditions ofestablishment forprivate individuals;
- general rules pertaining tothestatus ofaliens;
- rules relating totheadministration ofjustice andtheestablishment ofcourts;
- thegeneral rulesofcriminal lawandcriminal procedure, andinparticular thedefinition
ofcrimes andoffences, theinstitution ofthecorresponding penalties ofallkinds,
amnesty andextradition;
- therules ofcivilprocedure andenforcement procedure;
- therules governing civilandcommercial obligations;
- theestablishment, basis ofassessment andrateoftaxes, contributions, charges and
feesofallkinds;
- thecustoms regime;
- therules governing banks, credit andinsurance;
- thegeneral rules relating totherighttowork andsocial security;
- thegeneral rules relating totheprotection offauna andflora;
- thegeneral forestry regime;
- thegeneral regime formines andhydrocarbons.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page22
(c) TheJudiciary
Theprinciple oftheindependence ofthejudicial branch isenshrined invarious articles ofthe
Constitution. Thejudiciary isindependent, itprotects society andfreedoms. Itguarantees theprotection
ofthefundamental rights ofallpersons.
Judges aresubject solely totheauthority ofthelaw. They areprotected against allforms of
pressure, intervention ormanipulation likely tojeopardize thefulfilment oftheirtasks orrespect for
theirauthority.
AJudicial Service Commission takes decisions, under theconditions laiddown bylaw,on
theappointment, transfer andcareer pathofjudicial officers. Italsosupervises respect forthestatus
ofthejudiciary anddisciplinary procedures formembers ofthejudiciary.
2. Government entities responsible fortheelaboration andimplementation offoreign tradepolicy
Article19oftheConstitutionstatesthat"theorganizationofforeigntradefallswithinthepurview
oftheState. Theconditions fortheexercise andcontrol offoreign trade aredetermined bylaw".
Oneofthepurposes oftheeconomic reforms ofthelastsixyears hasbeen thegradual
liberalization offoreign trade.
Algerian lawpreviously recognized theprinciple ofaStatemonopoly onforeign trade, whereby
theStateassigned management ofsuchtradetopublic enterprises. Theadverse effects ofthatsystem,
including excess costsandwastage, weremade alltooapparent bythe1986oilcrisis andtheresulting
squeeze onscarce resources.
Executive Decree No.91-37 of13February 1991, ontheconditions ofintervention inrespect
offoreign trade, wasadopted toputanendtotheStatemonopoly, thereby initiating afullliberalization
offoreign trade management.
Theliberalization process wascompleted withtheimplementation ofthestructural adjustment
programme in1994.
Foreign trade policy isdecided bytheGovernment; itisoneofthefundamental elements of
thelatter'sprogramme ofaction. Itisproposed bytheMinister responsible forforeign trade who
hasthetaskofmonitoring andimplementing thepolicy onceitisadopted.
Executive Decree No.94-207 of16July1994, establishing thefunctions oftheTrade Minister,
defines hisduties inrespect oftheorganization oftrade, market regulation, competition andprices,
quality, consumption andforeign trade relations.
Thescope oftheMinistry 'spowers inthefieldofforeign trade isdefined interms ofthe
following functions (Article 8):
- Toinitiate andhelpelaborate organizational andregulatory instruments relating to
foreign trade;
- toorganize andpromote bilateral andmultilateral trading activities, through appropriate
structuresandincooperationwiththeministerialdepartmentsandinstitutionsconcerned;WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page23
- tocontribute tothepreparation andnegotiation oftrade agreements, incooperation
withtheinstitutions concerned, andtoensure theirimplementation andfollow-up;
- topromote exports andforeign salesofAlgerian goods andservices;
- todesign andestablish asystem ofinformation onexternal trade relations andtrade
flows;
- toensure thedynamic management ofthetrade balance asawhole andbycountry;
- toorganize, incooperation with thedepartments concerned, theservices with
responsibility fortrade matters attached toAlgeria 'sdiplomatic missions abroad;
- toundertake -inthelightofthepotential forforeign trade andtheresources available
-theestablishment offoreign trade missions, andensure thefollow-up, monitoring
andsupervision oftheiractivities.
Furthermore, inthefieldofinternational economic relations, theMinister ofTrade (Article 15):
- Participates andsupports thecompetent authorities concerned inallinternational
negotiations relating toactivities under hisresponsibility;
- seestotheimplementation ofinternational agreements andconventions and,asfar
ashisministerial department isconcerned, takes measures facilitating theconcrete
realization ofthecommitments entered intobyAlgeria;
- contributes totheactivities ofthespecialized regional andinternational trade
organizations ofwhich Algeria isamember.
Intheimplementation ofgovernment policy, theMinister responsible forforeign trade relies
onintermediatestructures,someofwhichareplacedunderhisdirectauthority(ChambersofCommerce,
Trade Promotion Office), aswellasoninstitutions answerable tootherministerial departments (National
Customs, Export Credit Insurance Fund, institutions responsible forstandardization, sanitary and
phytosanitary controls, intellectual property etc.).
Intheeconomic field, anumber offundamental lawshavebeenenacted inrecent years, all
ofthemdirected toagreater decentralization oftheeconomy andaredefinition oftheroleoftheState,
asreflected initsgradual disengagement fromthemanagement ofeconomic affairs andgreater Algerian
involvement intheinternational division oflabour.
Moreover, theCurrency andCredit ActofApril 1990 conferred verybroad powers onthe
BankofAlgeria, which wasmade aninstitution independent ofpolitical authority, particularly asregards
thefinancing offoreign tradeand,hence, theorganization andregulation ofaccess toforeign exchange
resources. Themain innovations introduced bytheActmaybesummarized asfollows:
- Total independence oftheCentral Bank inrelation totheTreasury;
- withdrawal oftheTreasury from involvement incompany loans;
- rehabilitation oftheasset-value approach tobankfinancing;
- foundation-building fortheestablishment ofmoney andfinancial markets;WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page24
- establishment ofprudential regulations andorganization ofbanking activity;
- liberalization ofcapital flows.
Since then, anumber ofother institutions havebeenestablished asaresult oftheenactment
ofnewlaws. They include theInvestment Promotion, Support andMonitoring Agency (APSI) and
theNational Competition Council.
Lastly, there istheNational Economic andSocial Council, which isanewforum forthe
organization ofconsultations onthemajor economic andsocial policy options between themostactive
representatives ofthevarious economic sectors.
3. Division ofauthority between central government andlocalauthorities
Inthecontext oftheorganization ofpowers inAlgeria, theexecutive, represented bythe
President oftheRepublic andtheHead oftheGovernment, whopersonify thecentral authority, is
extended atregional levelby:
- Thewali, whoistheGovernment representative atwilaya level. Thewilaya isthe
main administrative subdivision oftheexecutive authority, decentralized toregional
level. There are48wilayat inAlgeria.
- thedaira chief, whoistheGovernment representative atdaira level. Thedaira isan
administrative subdivision ofthewilaya which ismade upofseveral dairas.
These decentralized layers ofcentral government authority arecounter-balanced atlocallevel
bytheauthority oftheelected assemblies:
TheWilaya Popular Assembly (APW)
Thisisadecentralized deliberative organ. Since thereform undertaken in1989, theAPW
hascome tosymbolize theexpression ofthepeople 'swillatthewilaya level.
TheAPW bears general responsibility, within itsterritory, foreconomic, social andcultural
development andplanning schemes andforpromoting specific projects.
TheAPW isplaced under thepermanent authority ofaChairman elected byanabsolute majority
ofitsmembers, whoarethemselves elected atwilaya level.
TheCommunal People 'sAssembly (APC)
Thisisthebasic structure fortheadministration oftheState. Thedecision-making powers
andtheeconomic andsocial remit ofitselected members make theAPCafundamental institution in
thefunctioning ofAlgerian society.
4. Anylegislative programmes orplans tochange theregulatory regime
ThedraftOrder onforeign trade
Article19oftheConstitutionstipulatesthat"theorganizationofforeigntradeistheresponsibility
oftheStateandthelawshalldetermine theconditions forthecontrol andexercise offoreign trade".WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page25
Pursuant tothatArticle andwithaviewtoensuring acoherent andunified approach totheorganization
andcontrol offoreign trade, adraftOrder onforeign trade iscurrently under consideration.
Thecontent ofthedraftcentres onthefollowing provisions concerning:
- Rules applicable toimport andexport operations;
- identification ofunfair practices andaction tocombat them;
- supervision offoreign trade;
- counter-trade, samples andgifts;
- conditions ofestablishment forforeign firms, offences andpenalties.
(a) Theregime applicable toimport andexport operations
Thedrafttext,which isbased onthecustomary principles andrules ofinternational trade,
explicitly recognizes theprinciple oftheliberalization offoreign trade.
Provision is,however, made forthree exceptions totheprinciple, namely:
(i) Operations concerning products prohibited because theyprejudice safety, public order,
health, morality, theenvironment, thenational heritage andtheprotection ofcertain
animal andplant species;
(ii) operations relating toproducts subject totemporary safeguard measures onaccount
ofthreats tothedomestic industry, thebalance ofpayments orthestability ofthe
domestic market;
(iii) onabasisofreciprocity, operations relating toproducts originating incountries which
apply restrictive ordiscriminatory measures inrespect ofAlgerian products.
(b) Identification ofunfair practices andaction tocombat them
Thebasic aimistheimproved definition oftheprovisions andmeasures tobeimplemented
forthesakeofeffective action against dumping andsubsidization, inaccordance withthecustomary
rules ofinternational trade, andpursuant toArticle VIoftheGATT.
(c) Export promotion
Theaimistoprovide alegalbasisforStateintervention topromote exports, more particularly
through theestablishment ofintermediary support structures (foreign trade office, export guarantee
insurance fund, regulation andstandardization offairsandexhibitions, etc.).
(d) Supervision offoreign trade
Given thatGovernment intervention isbased essentially onaposteriori control, thedraftOrder
provides forthereinforcement ofcurrent arrangements, including inparticular thelawonthegeneral
rules ofconsumer protection, bymeans oftwotypes ofcontrol:WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page26
- Technical supervision aimed atensuring thatimported orexported products fullymeet
theprevailing Algerian standards or,intheirabsence, international standards;
- administrative supervision aimed atensuring thatforeign tradetransactions arecarried
outinaccordance withtheapplicable rules andregulations.
(e) Other provisions
Thedraftalsocontains special provisions designed toprovide alegalfoundation forregulations
togovern:
- Countertrade, particularly inthecontext offrontier tradewithneighbouring countries
tothesouth;
- samples andgifts;
- freezones;
- conditions ofestablishment forforeign firms inAlgeria;
- evaluation andformulation oftrade policy;
- organization ofchoices andpriorities inrespect offoreign trade;
- tariff policy evaluation, andimplementation ofprotective measures;
- definition ofgoods qualifying forthedifferent regimes;
- readjustment ofexport promotion inthecontext ofanenterprise-oriented strategy.
5. Laws andlegalacts
(a) Listoflawsandlegalactsregulating theactivity ofthecustoms authorities
Allthefollowing lawsandlegalinstruments havebeenelaborated andimplemented under the
ongoing supervision oftheMinistry ofFinance:
- LawNo.79-07 of21July1979, asamended andsupplemented, ontheCustoms Code.
- LawNo.91-25 of18December 1991onthe1992Finance Act,particularly Article 38
thereof relating tocustoms tariffs.
- Decree No.89-156 of15August 1989, laying down theconditions fortheapproval
ofcustoms agents.
- Decree No.90-177 of16June1990 onratification oftheAgreement ontheGlobal
System ofTrade Preferences among Developing Countries, done atBelgrade on
13April 1988.
- Decree No.91-76 of16March 1991ontheorganization andfunctioning oftheexternal
services ofthecustoms administration.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page27
- Decree No.91-241 of20July1991onratification oftheInternational Convention on
theHarmonized Commodity Description andCoding System, done atBrussels on
14June1983.
- Decree No.91-452 of16November 1991 onveterinary inspections atborder posts.
- Decree No.91-66 of29February 1991onacceptance oftheProtocol ofAmendment
totheInternational Convention onMutual Assistance forthePrevention, Investigation
andRepression ofCustoms Offences, doneatBrussels on22June1988.
- Decree No.92-126 of28March 1992, establishing theprocedures forimplementation
ofArticle 120oftheCustoms Code relating toprohibitions andrestrictions on
merchandise exports orimports.
International customs-related conventions andagreements come under theresponsibility ofthe
Ministry ofForeign Affairs; thefollowing havebeenconcluded byAlgeria:
- Temporary Importation ofPrivate Road Vehicles:
NewYork -4June1954 -Decree No.63-348 of11September 1963
- Temporary Importation ofCommercial Road Vehicles:
Geneva -18May1956 -Decree No.63-346 of11September 1963
- Temporary Importation forPrivate UseofAircraft andPleasure Boats:
Geneva -18May1956 -Decree No.63-351 of11September 1963
- Customs Facilities forTouring:
NewYork -4June1954 -Decree No.63-349 of11September 1963
- Single Convention onNarcotic Drugs:
NewYork -30March 1961 -Decree No.63-7of11September 1963
- Convention onInternational Civil Aviation:
Chicago -7December 1944. Amended bytheProtocols ofMontreal (27May1947,
14June1954and21June1961) andRome (15September 1962) -Decree No.63-384
of11September 1963
- International Convention fortheUnification ofCertain Rules ofLawrelating to
Assistance andSalvage atSea:
Brussels -29September 1910. Amended bytheBrussels Protocol of27August 1967.
Decree No.64-70 of2March 1964
- International Convention fortheUnification ofCertain Rules ofLawrelating toBills
ofLading:
Brussels -25August 1924 -Decree No.64-71 of2March 1964
- International Convention fortheUnification ofCertain Rules relating toMaritime Liens
andMortgages:
Brussels -10April 1926 -Decree No.64-72 of2March 1964
- International Convention fortheUnification ofCertain Rules relating toInternational
Carriage byAir:WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page28
Warsaw -12October 1929. Amended bytheHague Protocol of28September 1955
andbytheGuadalajara Convention of18September 1961. Decree No.64-74 of
2March 1964 andOrder No.65-267 of25October 1965.
- Vienna Convention onDiplomatic Relations:
Vienna -18April 1961 -Decree No.64-84 of4March 1964
- Vienna Convention onConsular Relations:
Vienna -24April 1963 -Decree No.64-85 of4March 1964
- International Convention fortheUnification ofCertain Rules relating totheArrest
ofAircraft:
Decree No.64-152
- International Convention relating totheLimitation oftheLiability ofOwners of
Sea-Going Ships:
Brussels -10July1957
- International Convention fortheUnification ofCertain Rules Relating totheArrest
ofSea-Going Ships:
Brussels -10May1958 -Decree No.64-171
- Convention onFacilitation ofInternational Maritime Traffic:
London -9April 1965 -Decree No.83-531 of19September 1983
- Customs Convention ontheInternational Transport ofGoods under cover ofTIR
Carnets:
Geneva -14November 1975 -Decree No.88-143 of26July1988
- Convention onInternational Trade inEndangered Species ofWild Fauna andFlora:
Washington -3March 1973 -Decree No.82-498 of25December 1982
- International Convention forthePublication ofCustoms Tariffs:
Brussels -5July1890
- International Convention concerning theCarriage ofGoods byRail(CIM):
Bonn -7February 1970 -Order No.72-35
- International Convention concerning theCarriage ofPassengers andLuggage byRail
(CIV):
Bonn -7February 1970 -Order No.72-36
- Order No.69-46 of3June1969 onratification oftheCustoms Convention onthe
Temporary Importation ofScientific Equipment, doneatBrussels on11June1968
- Order No.69-69 of2September 1969 onaccession totheCustoms Convention on
theTemporary Importation ofProfessional Equipment, doneatBrussels on8June1961
- LawNo.87-233of20October1987onaccessiontotheCustomsConventionconcerning
Facilities fortheImportation ofGoods forDisplay orUseatExhibitions, Fairs,
Meetings orSimilar Events, signed atBrussels on8June1961.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page29
Conventions oftheCustoms Cooperation Council (Accepted byAlgeria):
Convention Entry intoforce Accession byAlgeria
CCC (15December 1950) 4November 1952 19December 1966 n.p.
Nomenclature 11September 1959 Denounced 1992
Harmonized System 1January 1988 20July1991
Valuation 18July1953 18November 1976
Kyoto 25September 1974 12October 1976
Nairobi 21May1980 19April 1988
Packings 15March 1962 23February 1988
Professional equipment 1July1962 5September 1972
Exhibitions andfairs 13July1962 20October 1987
ATA 30July1963 2July1973
Welfare material forseafarers 11December 1965 5August 1969
Scientific equipment 5September 1969 8August 1969
Pedagogic material 10September 1971 16June1971
Containers (CCC managed) 6December 1975 14December 1978
CCC Conventions containing annexes
Kyoto Convention: (9)Annexes accepted: A1,A2,E1,E3,E4,E5,E8,F3,F5.Annex A1:
Customs formalities priortothelodgement oftheGoods declaration. Annex A2:Temporary storage
ofgoods. Annex E1:Customs transit. Annex E3:Customs warehouses. Annex E4:Drawback.
Annex E5:Temporary admission subject tore-exportation inthesame state. Annex E8:Temporary
exportation foroutward processing. Annex F3:Customs facilities applicable totravellers. Annex F5:
Urgent consignments.
Nairobi Convention: (4)Annexes accepted: I,II,IIIandIX.Annex I:Assistance bya
customs administration onitsowninitiative. Annex II:Assistance, onrequest, intheassessment of
import orexport duties andtaxes. Annex III:Assistance, onrequest, relating tocontrols. Annex IX:
Pooling ofinformation.
(b) Laws andlegalactsrelating to:
Non-tariff regulation ofimports
Nonon-tariff import regulations arecurrently inplace. However, theforeign tradebillprovides
forthepossibility ofjustified recourse, interalia,toimport licensing andthetemporary limitation
ofimports (quotas).
Responsible agency: Ministry ofTrade.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page30
Non-tariff export regulations
Anexport suspension ruleisapplicable tothefollowing products:
- Palm treeseedlings;
- breeding sheep andcattle;
- works ofart,objects ofhistorical orarchaeological value andnational cultural assets.
Responsible agency: Ministry ofTrade
Regulation oftransit traffic.
- Customs Code: Article 125etseq.;
- Annex E1totheKyoto Convention oftheCustoms Cooperation Council.
Responsible agency: Customs Administration
Rules oforigin
- Customs Code: Article 14etseq.;
- Trade andTariff Convention oftheArab Maghreb Union (AMU);
- Algeria-EEC Agreement (EEC Rules).
Responsible agency: Customs Administration
(c) Laws andregulations relating toforeign investment
Algerian legislation makes nodistinction between foreign investors andnational investors, and
access tothebenefits made available inthecontext ofinvestment promotion isnon-discriminatory.
Themain textsandregulations governing investment inAlgeria arethefollowing:
- Legislative Decree No.93-12 of5October 1995 oninvestment promotion.
- Executive Decree No.94-319 of17October 1994 onthepowers, organization and
functioning oftheInvestment Promotion, Support andMonitoring Agency (APSI).
- Executive Decree 94-320 of17October 1994 onfreezones.
- Executive Decree No.94-321 of17October 1994oninvestment promotion, andlaying
down theconditions forthedesignation anddelimitation ofspecific zones.
- Executive Decree No.94-322 of17October 1994 ontheassignment ofState lands
situated inspecific zones, within thecontext ofinvestment promotion.
- Executive Decree No.94-323 of17October 1994 laying down theminimum level
ofownfunds forinvestments.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page31
- Bank ofAlgeria Regulation No.94-17 of22October 1994 defining theexchange
regulations specific tofreezones.
Responsible agency: Investment Promotion, Support andMonitoring Agency (APSI).
(d) Other lawsandlegalactsdealing witheconomic issues thataffect trade:
(i) Constitution, registration andorganization
- The1989 Constitution.
- Order No.66-145 of8June1966 ontheCode ofCivil Procedure, asamended and
supplemented byLegislative Decree No.93-09 of25April 1993.
- Order No.75-35 of29April 1975 onthenational accounts plan.
- Order No.75-58 of26September 1975 ontheCivil Code, supplemented byLaw
No.89-01 of7February 1989.
- Order No.75-59 of26September 1975 ontheCommercial Code, asamended and
supplemented byLegislative Decree No.93-08 of25April 1993.
- LawNo.88-02 of12January 1988 onplanning, asamended andsupplemented.
- LawNo.90-22 of18August 1990 onthecommercial register, asamended byLaw
No.91-14 of14September 1991 andbyOrder No.96-07 of10January 1996.
- LawNo.91-08 of27April 1991 ontheprofession ofchartered accountant, auditor
andbookkeeper.
- Executive Decree No.91-37 ontheconditions ofintervention inthefieldofforeign
trade.
- LawNo.92-68 of18February 1992 onthestatus andorganization oftheNational
Commercial Register Centre (CNRC).
- Law No.90-21 of15August 1990 onaccounting practices, asamended and
supplemented.
- Executive Decree No.91-434 of9November 1991 ontheregulation ofpublic
procurement, asamended andsupplemented byExecutive Decree No.96-54 of
22January 1996.
- Legislative Decree No.94-01 of15January 1994 onthestatistical system.
- Order No.95-20 of17July1995 ontheCourt ofAudit.
- Order No.95-22 of12July1995 onprivatization.
- Executive Decree No.95-160 of3June1995, ontheorganization andfunctioning of
theNational Statistical Council, asamended andsupplemented byExecutive Decree
No.95-447 of25December 1995.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page32
- Executive Decree No.95-438 of23December 1995, onimplementation ofthe
provisions oftheCommercial Code relating tojoint-stock companies andconsortia.
(ii) Bilateral andmultilateral conventions
- Executive Decree No.82-492 onratification ofthe1973Washington Convention for
theprotection offauna andflora.
- Decree No.88-233 of5November 1988 onaccession, subject toreservation, tothe
Convention ontheRecognition andEnforcement ofForeign Arbitral Awards, adopted
bytheUnited Nations Conference inNewYork on10June1958.
- Decree No.90-186 of23June 1990 onaccession totheInternational Finance
Corporation.
- Decree No.90-319 of17October 1990 onratification oftheinvestment promotion
agreement signed inWashington on22June1990 between theGovernment ofthe
People 'sDemocratic Republic ofAlgeria andtheGovernment oftheUnited States
ofAmerica.
- Presidential Decree No.95-345 of30October 1995onratification oftheConvention
establishing theMultilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
- Presidential Decree No.95-436 of30October 1995onratification oftheConvention
ontheSettlement ofInvestment Disputes between States andNationals ofOther States.
- Presidential Decree No.94-306 of2October 1994onratification ofthe1993Protocol
extending theInternational Agreement onOlive OilandTable Olives, 1986, with
amendments.
- Decree No.91-345 of5October 1991 onratification oftheAgreement between the
Government ofthePeople 'sDemocratic Republic ofAlgeria and the
Belgium-LuxembourgEconomicUnion,concerningreciprocalpromotionandprotection
ofinvestments, signed atAlgiers on24April 1991.
- Decree No.91-346 of5October 1991 onratification oftheAgreement between the
Government ofthePeople 'sDemocratic Republic ofAlgeria andtheGovernment of
theItalian Republic forthepromotion andmutual protection ofinvestments, signed
inAlgeria on18May1991.
- Order No.96-05 of10January 1996 onapproval oftheUnited Nations Convention
ontheLawoftheSea.
(iii) Insurance
- Order No.95-07 of25January 1995 oninsurance.
- Executive Decree No.95-338 of30October 1995ontheestablishment andcodification
ofinsurance transactions.
- Executive Decree No.95-339 of30October 1995 onthepowers, composition,
organization andfunctioning oftheNational Insurance Board.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page33
- Executive Decree No.95-340 of30October 1995, laying down theconditions forthe
granting andwithdrawal oflicences, andontheprofessional competence, remuneration
andsupervision ofinsurance intermediaries.
- Executive Decree No.95-341 of30October 1995ontherulesapplicable toinsurance
agents.
- Executive Decree No.95-342 of30October 1995 onregulated liabilities.
- Executive Decree No.95-343 of30October 1995onthesolvency margin ofinsurance
companies.
- Executive Decree No.95-344 of30October 1995ontheminimum authorized capital
ofinsurance companies.
- Executive Decree No.95-409 of9December 1995oncompulsory cession inthefield
ofreinsurance.
- Executive Decree No.95-410 of9December 1995 onthedifferent combinations of
personal insurance.
- Executive Decree No.95-411 of9December 1995 oncompulsory civilliability
insurance forindividuals orcorporate bodies operating facilities opentothepublic.
- Executive Decree No.95-412 of9December 1995 determining themerchandise and
capital goods imported byseaandair,which areexempted fromcompulsory insurance
withaninsurance company licensed inAlgeria.
- Executive Decree No.95-413 of9December 1995 oncompulsory civilliability
insurance forcompanies andinstitutions inthecivileconomic sectors.
- Executive Decree No.95-414 of9December 1995 oncompulsory professional civil
liability insurance foroperators intheconstruction industry.
- Executive Decree No.95-415 of9December 1995 oncompulsory fireinsurance.
- Executive Decree No.95-416 of9December 1995 laying down theconditions and
rules foragricultural riskinsurance.
- Order No.96-06 of10January 1996 onexport credit insurance.
- Executive Decree No.96-46 of17January 1996 laying down theconditions forthe
licensing,serviceanddismissalofdamageassessmentexpertswithinsurancecompanies.
- Executive Decree No.96-47 of17January 1996ontherating ofrisksintheinsurance
field.
- Executive Decree No.96-48 of17January 1996 laying down insurance terms and
conditions inrespect ofproducts liability.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page34
(iv) Price regulation
- Order No.95-06 of25January 1995 oncompetition.
- Executive Decree No.95-364 of11November 1995, defining inventory procedures
forimpounded goods, pursuant toArticle 69oftheOrder oncompetition.
- Executive Decree No.95-305 of7October 1995 defining theformat oftheinvoice.
- Executive Decree No.95-365 of25October 1995ontheprocedures fortheimposition
oftransaction fines.
(v) Land userules
- LawNo.90-08 of7April 1990 onthecommune.
- LawNo.90-09 of7April 1990 onthewilaya.
- LawNo.90-25 of18November 1990onlandplanning, asamended andsupplemented
byOrder No.95-26 of25September 1995.
- LawNo.90-29 of1December 1990 ontown andcountry planning.
- LawNo.90-30 of1December 1990 comprising aState property law.
- LawNo.91-11 of27April 1991 establishing rules onexpropriation inthepublic
interest.
- Decree No.85-211 of13August 1985 laying down rules fortheissue ofbuilding
permits andpermits forthedivision oflandintobuilding plots.
- Decree No.86-226 of2September 1986 onmining licences.
- Decree No.89-125 of17October 1989laying down thestandard agreement forprivate
useofpublic landonacontractual basis.
- Decree No.93-123 of19May1993, amending andsupplementing Decree No.76-63
ontheinstitution ofthelandregistry.
- Decree No.92-134 of7April 1992, amending andsupplementing Decree No.76-62
ontheestablishment ofthegeneral property register.
(vi) Social legislation
- LawNo.81-10 of11July1981 ontheemployment conditions offoreign workers.
- LawNo.88-07 of26January 1988 onoccupational health, safety andmedicine.
- LawNo.90-02 of6February 1990 ontheprevention andsettlement ofindustrial
disputes andtheexercise oftheright tostrike, asamended byLawNo.91-27 of
21December 1991.
- LawNo.90-03 of6February 1990 onlabour inspection.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page35
- LawNo.90-11 of21April 1990onindustrial relations, asamended byLawNo.91-29
of21December 1991.
- LawNo.90-14 of2June1990ontheprocedure fortheexercise oftherighttoorganize.
- Decree No.90-209 of14July1990ontheorganization andfunctioning ofthegeneral
labour inspectorate.
- Decree No.85-30 of9February 1985 establishing thebreakdown ofsocial security
contribution rates.
(vii) Quality control
- LawNo.89-02 of7February 1989 onthegeneral rules ofconsumer protection.
- LawNo.89-23 of19December 1989 onstandardization.
- LawNo.90-18 of31July1990 ontheofficial national system ofmetrology.
- Decree No.90-39 of30January 1990onquality control andthesuppression offraud.
- Decree No.90-266 of15September 1990 onproduct andservice warranties.
- Decree No.90-366 of10November 1990onthelabelling andpresentation ofnon-food
domestic products.
- Decree No.90-367 of10November onthelabelling andpresentation offoodstuffs.
- Executive Decree No.90-566 of10November 1990 onlabelling.
- Decree No.91-04 of19January 1991onmaterials intended forcontact withfoodstuffs
andproducts forcleaning suchmaterials.
- Decree No.91-53 of23February 1991onconditions ofhygiene inthefoodmarketing
chain.
- ExecutiveDecreeNo.95-363of11November1995layingdownrulesfortheveterinary
inspection ofliveanimals andanimal products orproducts ofanimal origin intended
forhuman consumption.
- Decree No.91-192 of1June1991 onquality control laboratories.
- Decree No.92-25 of13January 1992 ontheconditions andprocedures fortheuse
ofadditives infoodstuffs.
- Decree No.92-41 of4February 1992 defining theconditions andprocedures forthe
production, packaging andmarketing ofcosmetics andpersonal hygiene products on
thenational market.
- Decree No.92-42 of4February 1992onprior licensing forthemanufacture oftoxic
orparticularly hazardous products, asamended andsupplemented byDecree No.95-39
of29January 1995.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page36
- Decree No.92-65 of12February 1992onthemonitoring oftheconformity oflocally-
manufactured orimported products.
- Executive Decree No.94-90 of10April 1994 onthemonitoring ofthequality and
conformity ofproducts forexport.
- Executive Decree No.94-210 of16July1994ontheestablishment andpowers ofthe
Trade Ministry 'sCentral Inspectorate forEconomic Investigation andSuppression of
Fraud.
- Executive Decree No.95-405 of2December 1995 onthecontrol ofphytosanitary
products foragricultural use.
(viii) Health
- LawNo.85-05 of16February 1985 ontheprotection andpromotion ofhealth.
- LawNo.87-17 of1August 1987 onphytosanitary protection.
- Decree No.90-198 of30June1990establishing regulations onexplosive substances.
- Decree No.90-245 of18August 1990 establishing regulations onpressurized gas
appliances.
- Decree No.90-246 of18August 1990 establishing regulations onsteam pressure
appliances.
- Decree No.92-354 of23September 1992onaccession totheVienna Convention for
theProtection oftheOzone Layer, doneon22March 1985.
- Decree No.92-355 of23September 1992 onaccession totheMontreal Protocol on
Substances thatDeplete theOzone Layer, signed atMontreal on16September 1987.
- DecreeNo.93-160of10July1993regulatingthedischargeofindustrialliquideffluents.
- Decree No.93-161 of10July1993 regulating thedisposal ofoilsandlubricants in
thenatural environment.
- Decree No.93-162 of10July1993 laying down theconditions andprocedures for
therecovery andprocessing ofspent oils.
- Decree No.93-163 of10July1993ontheintroduction ofaninventory ofsurface water
pollution levels.
- Decree No.93-164 of10July1993laying down quality standards forbathing water.
- Decree No.93-165 of10July1993regulating atmospheric emissions ofsmoke, gas,
dust, odours andsolid particles from fixed installations.
- Decree No.93-286 of23November 1993 regulating phytosanitary border controls.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page37
- Executive Decree No.95-429 of16December 1995 laying down theconditions and
procedures forauthorizing theproduction, possession, assignment, utilization,
transportation, importation andexportation ofnon-crop plant species.
(ix) Hydrocarbons andmines
- LawNo.84-06 of7January 1984onmining activities, asamended byLawNo.91-24
of6December 1991.
- LawNo.86-14of19August1986onhydrocarbonprospecting,exploration,exploitation
andtransportation bypipeline, asamended byLawNo.91-21 of4December 1991.
- Decree No.87-157 of23July1987 ontheclassification ofhydrocarbon exploration
andproduction zones.
- Decree No.88-34 of16February 1988ontheconditions forthegranting, waiver and
withdrawal ofmining rights forhydrocarbon, prospecting, exploration andproduction.
- Decree No.88-193 of4October 1988 ontheexploration forandexploitation of
category IandIImineral substances.
- Decree No.93-73 of6March 1993 establishing thelistofmineral substances.
- Decree No.93-74 of6March 1993 ongeneral regulations formineral production.
(x) Tourism
- LawNo.90-05 of19February 1990 ontourist andtravel agencies.
- Decree No.85-12 of26January 1985 defining andorganizing hotel andtourist
activities.
- Decree No.88-214 of31October 1988 ontheestablishment andorganization ofthe
National Tourist Office.
- Decree No.88-232 of5November 1988ontheregistration oftourist expansion areas.
(xi) Securities exchange
- Decree No.88-177 of27September 1988 determining thetypes ofshares andshare
certificates thatcanbeissued bypublic enterprises.
- Executive Decree No.91-170 of28May1991 determining thevarieties andforms
ofsecurities andtheconditions fortheirissue bycompanies withshare capital.
- Executive Decree No.91-189 of28May 1991 ontheorganization ofsecurities
transactions.
- Legislative Decree No.91-171 of28May1991 onthestock exchange commission.
- Legislative Decree No.93-10 of23May1993onthesecurities exchange, asamended
andsupplemented byOrder No.96-10 of10January 1996.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page38
- Order No.96-02 of10January 1996ontheorganization oftheprofession ofauctioneer.
- Order No.95-25 of25September 1995onthemanagement ofState-owned commercial
capital.
- Order No.96-08 of10January 1996 oncollective securities investment agencies
(OPCVM) (SICAV) and(FCP).
- Order No.96-09 of10January 1996 onleasing.
(xii) Banking regulations
- LawNo.90-10 of14April 1990 onmoney andcredit.
- Regulation No.90-01 of4July1990 onminimum capital holdings forbanks and
financial institutions operating inAlgeria.
- Regulation No.90-02 of8September 1990laying down theconditions fortheopening
andoperation offoreign exchange accounts bycorporate bodies.
- Regulation No.90-03 of8September 1990 laying down theconditions forcapital
transfers toAlgeria tofinance economic activities andrepatriation ofsuchcapital and
theincome derived therefrom.
- Regulation No.91-02 of20February 1991laying down theconditions fortheopening
andoperation offoreign exchange accounts forthebenefit ofresident ornon-resident
foreign individuals andcorporate bodies.
- Regulation No.91-03 of20February 1991ontheconditions fortheconduct ofimport
transactions inAlgeria andtheirfinancing.
- Regulation No.91-04 of16May1991onthecollection ofhydrocarbon export earnings,
asamended byRegulation No.95-03 of6March 1995.
- Regulation No.91-07 of14August 1991 onexchange regulations andconditions.
- Regulation No.91-08 of14August 1991 ontheorganization ofthemoney market.
- Regulation No.91-09 of14August 1991 laying down management safeguard rules
forbanks andfinancial institutions, assupplemented andamended byRegulation
No.95-04 of20April 1995.
- Regulation No.91-10 of14August 1991ontheconditions foropening representative
offices offoreign banks andfinancial institutions.
- Regulation No.91-12 of14August 1991 onthedomiciliation ofimports.
- Regulation No.91-13 of14August 1991onthedomiciliation andfinancial regulation
ofnon-hydrocarbon exports.
- Regulation No.92-01 of22March 1992ontheorganization andoperation oftherisk
insurance centre.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- Regulation No.92-02 of22March 1992ontheorganization andoperation oftheunpaid
debtcentre.
- Regulation No.92-03 of22March 1992 onaction toprevent andcombat theissue
ofuncovered cheques.
- Regulation No.92-04 of22March 1992 onexchange controls, asamended by
Regulation No.95-07 of23December 1995.
- Regulation No.92-05 of22March 1992ontheconditions tobemetbythefounders,
directors andrepresentatives ofbanks andfinancial institutions.
- Regulation No.92-08 of17November 1992 onascheme forbank accounts and
accounting rules applicable tobanks andfinancial institutions.
- Regulation No.92-09 of17November 1992 onthepreparation andpublication of
individual annual accounts bybanks andfinancial institutions.
- Regulation No.92-10 of17November 1992amending andsupplementing Regulation
No.91-06of16May1991layingdowntheconditionsfortheawardofforeignexchange
allowances intheevent ofhospitalization and/or death ofnationals inforeign countries.
- Regulation No.93-01 of3January 1993laying down theconditions forthefoundation
ofbanks andfinancial institutions andtheestablishment ofbranches offoreign banks
andfinancial institutions.
- Regulation No.93-02 of3January 1993ontheissueofsurety andcounter-surety bonds
bylicensed banking intermediaries.
- Regulation No.95-08 of23December 1995 ontheforeign exchange market.
(xiii) Taxation
- Order No.76-103 of9December 1976, asamended andsupplemented, ontheStamp
Code.
- Order No.76-104 of9December 1976, asamended andsupplemented, ontheIndirect
Taxation Code.
- Order No.76-105 of9December 1976, asamended andsupplemented, onthe
Registration Code.
- LawNo.79-07 of21July1979, asamended andsupplemented, ontheCustoms Code.
- LawNo.90-36 of31December 1990 onthe1991 Finance Act,particularly Article
38instituting theCode ofDirect Taxes andEquivalent Charges, andArticle 65
instituting theValue-Added Tax(VAT) Code.
- LawNo.84-17 of7July1984, asamended andsupplemented, ontheFinance Act.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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(e) (i) Existing laws, regulations oradministrative guidelines which significantly affect trade
inservices
- Financial services -Banking andinsurance;
- Transport;
- Tourism;
- Posts andtelecommunications;
- Legislation andregulations relating totheexercise ofprofessional services (lawyers,
solicitors, doctors, veterinary surgeons, auditors, etc.).
(ii) Publications orsources ofinformation concerning measures ofgeneral application of
relevance totheGATS
- There arenocurrently nopublications onthesubject.
*The sources ofinformation arethefollowing service sectors ofthevarious ministerial
departments:
- Ministry ofFinance: banking andinsurance services;
- Ministry ofPosts andTelecommunications: telecommunication services;
- Ministry ofTourism andCrafts: tourist services, travel agencies, hotel andcatering
trades etc.;
- Ministry ofHealth; medical andhealth services;
- Ministry ofAgriculture: veterinary andphytosanitary services;
- Ministry ofCommunication andCulture; information andcultural services;
- Ministry ofInfrastructure andRegional Planning: public works andconstruction offices
andproject departments;
- Ministry ofEducation: educational services;
- Ministry ofHigher Education: university education andscientific research;
- Ministry ofTrade: quality control.
(iii) Enquiry points, ifany,asforeseen inArticle IIIofGATS
There isasyetnofocalpointforinformation ofthekindprovided forinArticle IIIoftheGeneral
Agreement onTrade inServices (GATS). Thetaskofprovisional coordination isperformed bythe
Ministry ofTrade, which ensures notification ofallmeasures relevant totheoperation oftheGATS
andresponds, within thecustomary time-limits, toanyrequest forinformation submitted byaMember.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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6. Description ofjudicial tribunals andprocedures
(a) Administration ofjustice
Order No.65-278 of16November 1965 ontheadministration ofjustice provides forthe
establishment ofanumber ofcourts throughout theterritory, together withsubsidiary tribunals whose
number, seatandjurisdiction arelaiddown byregulations.
(i) TheSupreme Court
Itstaskistoregulate theactivities ofnational courts, ensure theunification ofjurisprudence
andmonitor observance ofthelaw.
(ii) Thecourts andtribunals
Thecourts eachcomprise abench ofjudges. Thetribunals givesingle-judge rulings inall
types ofcase, subject totheparticular rules governing thework ofassessors.
Thetribunals aredivided intosections, andeachsection hasapresiding judge.
Thecommercialsectioniscomposedofajudge(president)andtwonon-votingassessors,selected
according totheirpersonal status.
Inthesocial section, theparticipation ofassessors witharighttovote,representing employers
andworkers, wasmade compulsory bythe1991 reform.
Other parties closely involved intheadministration ofjustice include lawyers, solicitors, judicial
experts andthecriminal investigation department.
(b) Criminal law
(i) Constitutional principles
Anumber offundamental principles havebeenenshrined intheConstitution. They include
equality before thelaw,mandatory prosecution ofoffences defined bylawandtherulethatpunishment
should beapplied totheoffender only, thepresumption ofinnocence andthenon-retroactivity ofthe
law.
- Thecriminal lawisapplicable toalloffences committed ontheterritory oftheRepublic
(Article 3).Italsoapplies tooffences committed abroad when theyaretheprovince
oftheAlgerian criminal courts under theprovisions oftheCode ofCriminal Procedure.
(ii) Criminal indemnification proceedings
Apublic prosecution maybeinitiated bytheinjured party, whoisalsoentitled tobring
indemnification proceedings inacivilcourt. TheCode ofCivil Procedure provides thatanindemnity
action toobtain compensation fordamage caused byanytypeofoffence (criminal, ordinary orminor)
maybebrought byanyone whohaspersonally suffered damage directly caused bytheoffence concerned.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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(c) Civil law
(i) TheCode ofCivil Procedure
- Thetribunals areordinary courts which dealwithallcivilandcommercial suitsor
suitsbrought byacompany orassociation, forwhich theyhaveterritorial jurisdiction.
They giverulings either atfirstandlastinstance oronappeal, depending onthevalue
ofthesubject-matter (Articles 1and2).
- Thecourts hearappeals fromjudgements given inalltypes ofcasesbythefirst-instance
tribunals (Article 5).
- Incases concerned withmovable property andpersonal immovable property, aswell
ascases inwhich noparticular jurisdiction isassigned, thecompetent court isthecourt
attheplace where thedefendant isdomiciled, orifhehasnoknown domicile, the
place where heresides, orifhehasnoknown residence, theplace where hewaslast
domiciled.
- Anyalien, evenonenotresident inAlgeria, maybesummoned toappear before the
Algerian courts fortheperformance ofobligations hehasentered intoinAlgeria. He
mayalsobebrought before theAlgerian courts inconnection withobligations towards
Algerian nationals assumed inaforeign country (Article 10).
- Finally, anyAlgerian maybebrought before theAlgerian courts inconnection with
obligations assumed inaforeign country, including obligations toanalien(Article 11).
(ii) TheCivil Code
Itshould benoted thattheapplication ofcertain relevant provisions ismade subject totheterms
ofinternational conventions:
- Intheevent ofaconflict oflaws, theAlgerian courts havethepower todefine the
category occupied bythelegalrelationship which isthesubject ofthedispute, with
aviewtodetermining theapplicable law(Article 9).
- Thelawsconcerning thestatus andcapacity ofindividuals arealsoapplicable to
Algerians resident abroad.
Foreignlegalentities,companies,associations,foundationsandthelike,whichengageinactivity
inAlgeria, aresubject toAlgerian law(Article 10).
- Contractual obligations aregoverned bythelawoftheplace where thecontract was
concluded, unless theparties agree thatanother lawshould apply.
Thefollowing points should alsobementioned:
- TheMinister ofFinance represents theState when itisdirectly involved inprivate
lawrelationships (Article 52);
- contracts arebinding ontheparties tothem (Article 106);WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page43
- compensation isalways awarded fordamage caused bypersonal action, theaction of
others orinanimate objects.
(d) Administrative law
LawNo.90-23 of18August 1990 amended andsupplemented theCode ofCivil Procedure,
withtheaimofbringing thejudicial system closer tolitigants andsimplifying theprocedures relating
toappeals against public authority actsandadministrative proceedings.
(e) Arbitration
Thefar-reaching changes inthefieldofinternational economic relations, brought about by
theincrease inthevolume ofinternational trade andthewiderange ofinterests shared bymembers
oftheinternational community, hadlongsince driven those active inthissphere totrytoestablish
asingle legalfoundation forthepeaceful settlement ofpossible disputes, thereby overcoming theconflict
oflaws.
Indeed, themethod ofsettlement ofsuchdisputes between operators ofdifferent countries raises
questions regarding thebalance ofcontractual relationships.
Toanswer them, useisincreasingly made ofarbitration, aninstitution based precisely onthe
principle offreedom ofcontract.
Arbitration isnotunknown inAlgeria. Onthedomestic level, there hasbeenlegislation
authorizing andregulating thismethod ofdispute settlement since1966, while anumber ofagreements
havebeenconcluded inthisfieldattheinternational level.
(i) TheCode ofCivil Procedure
Articles 442to458oftheCode ofCivil Procedure provide forvoluntary arbitration andthe
parties alsohavetherighttoappeal totheordinary courts.
Thestandard arbitration procedure isrecognized innumerous foreign legalsystems which have
opted forthismethod ofdispute settlement.
Theparties thushavethepossibility ofenvisaging aspecial agreement oranarbitration clause
forthesettlement oftheirdispute.
Theconditions ofvalidity ofthearbitration agreement exclude matters outside thefieldoftrade
andperemptory jurisdiction, namely caseswhich maybereferred tothePublic Prosecution Department.
Thearbitration tribunal comprises two(2)arbitrators, selected byeachoftheparties, anda
thirdarbitrator selected bythetwo(2)arbitrators intheevent ofasplitdecision.
Thearbitration proceedings proper areconducted onanadversarial basis.
Lastly, theremedies against arbitral awards areeither borrowed fromthejudicial system (e.g.
appeal andretraction) orarepeculiar tothearbitration process (e.g. application tosetaside an
enforcement order).
Thismethod ofsettling disputes is,however, available onlytoprivate individuals. TheState
andpublic lawcorporations arenotinprinciple entitled tosubmit acasetoarbitration.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page44
Nevertheless, forthesakeofexpediting proceedings, national operators havebeenmade subject
tocompulsory arbitration since 1975.
(ii) Attheinternational level
Other thaninalimited number ofcases, national operators didnotinthepasthaverecourse
tointernational institutions; thereason forthis,inthecaseofprivate individuals, wastheexistence
ofaState monopoly inforeign trade, andinthecaseofpublic operators, because theydidnothave
unrestricted control overthegoods entrusted tothem, which weretheproperty oftheStateandtherefore
non-seizable, inalienable andimprescriptible.
Thesituation today isdifferent andforeign trade islargely accessible toindividuals, while
public enterprises havebecome independent.
Itwasagainst thisbackground thatAlgeria ratified theNewYork Convention guaranteeing
theeffectiveness ofarbitration clauses andensuring therecognition andenforcement ofawards onbetter
terms thanthose applied toforeign judicial decisions inmany countries.
Inthisconnection, company managers arebeginning tofamiliarize themselves withdomestic
andinternational arbitration procedures, especially inthewake oftheamendment toArticle 442of
theCode ofCivil Procedure andAlgeria 'saccession tothe1958 NewYork Convention, aswellas
itssigning oftheArab Convention onCommercial Arbitration forwhich theratification process is
inhand.
With thisaiminview, theCode ofCivil Procedure hasrecently been expanded tomake
international arbitration possible andtorevoke theruleprohibiting theState, ininternational trade
relations, fromseeking compromise settlements bothinarbitration proceedings andintheenforcement
ofarbitral awards. TheCode ofCivil Procedure maybeconsidered uptodate.
Moreover, theCode hasbeendulysupplemented byinternational arbitration agreements, both
bilateral andmultilateral.
Finally, itshould bepointed outthat,withtheliberalization oftheeconomy, thecourts have
beengiven thetaskofruling interaliaon:
- Theexercise oftherighttostrike andtherighttoorganize;
- contentious proceedings between public enterprises
- theliquidation ofpublic orprivate enterprises;
- proceedings relating toinvestment.
Thejudiciary hasalsobeenassociated withmajor national andlocalinstitutions, including:
- Management ofthecommercial register atbothnational andlocallevel;
- thebanking commission attached totheBank ofAlgeria;
- theStock Exchange commission;
- theprivatization commission;WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page45
- thecompetition council;
- therealestate committee.
Atthesametime, athoroughgoing reform isunder way,withtheaimofimproving theresponse
totheeffects ofeconomic reform.
Thecourts arecurrently undergoing anorganizational overhaul which should result in:
- Thespecialization ofcourts (commercial, landandcommunity tribunals etc.);
- theestablishment ofadministrative tribunals;
- theclassification ofcourts according totheplace where theyareestablished andtaking
intoaccount thesocial andeconomic conditions ofthejudicial district;
- areview ofjudicial district boundaries.
IV. POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE INGOODS
1. Import regulation
(a) Registration requirements forengaging inimporting
Thefollowing arethebasic rules tobeobserved forthecarrying outimport transactions in
Algeria:
- Theobligation foreconomic undertakings inthepublic andprivate sectors tokeep
acommercialregister(LawNo.90-22of8August1990,asamendedandsupplemented,
onthecommercial register);
- therequirement ofcompliance withtheprovisions ongovernment procurement, as
applicable to"government departments, autonomous national institutions, thewilayat,
communes andpublic institutions ofanadministrative nature" (Executive Decree No.
91-434 of9November 1991ontheregulation ofpublic procurement, asamended and
supplemented);
- Theobligationofpriordomiciliationwithanapprovedbankingintermediary(Regulation
No.92-04 of22March 1990, asamended andsupplemented byRegulation No.95-05
of23December 1995, onexchange controls, particularly PartVdefining therules
ofpayment forimports andexports ofgoods).
(b) Characteristics ofthenational tariff
Thefirstnational customs tariff, published inOctober 1963, contained asetofdutypreferences
granted tothecountries oftheEuropean Economic Community inreturn forreciprocal benefits, with
aviewtomaintaining traditional trade flows.
Thispreferential regime, which wasdiscontinued in1972, comprised asingle general system
ofpreferences, forcustoms duties only, andaspecial tariffapplicable tospecific tradeflows, including
trade withtheMaghreb countries inparticular.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Areformwasinitiatedin1992,withtheintroductionofacustomstariffbasedontheHarmonized
Commodity Description andCoding System (HS). Thistariff includes asubstantially smaller range
ofratesthanthose oftheprevious tariff, namely exemption, 3,7,15,25,40and60percent.
Weighted Average Level ofDuties onMain Customs Tariff Groupings in1994
Number oftariff
positionsUnweighted
average rateVariable
coefficientWeighted
average
rateImports Percentage
ofimports
Total imports 4,539 15.9 79.9 14.1 340,016 100
Agriculture 134 13.3 105.2 4.3 45,379 13.35
Mining 56 10.8 118.3 6.8 1,872 0.55
Manufactures 4,347 23.5 78.6 16.9 292,764 86.1
Consumer goods 1,422 38.03 51.6 18.5 94,073 27.67
Intermediate goods 1,891 16.6 79.7 16.6 103,311 30.38
Capital goods 1,034 15.9 72.7 15.6 95,379 28.05
Food, beverages, tobacco 340 32.8 65.8 18.1 69,348 20.4
Textiles andleather 581 39.2 48.5 27.4 6,573 19.33
Wood, corks andstoppers
andproducts derived
therefrom82 42.6 45.8 17.9 8,278 2.43
Paper andprinting 137 23.7 80.2 12.9 7,401 2.18
Chemical products,
petroleum oilsandcoal1,041 14.4 89.9 11.1 46,285 13.6
Non-metallic minerals 181 33 54.8 20.1 8,407 2.47
Basemetals industry 320 12 71.9 12.2 24,322 7.15
Metals andmachinery 1,510 20.8 72.7 18.6 120,290 35.37
Other manufactures 155 35.5 52.4 28 1,859 0.55
(i) Customs tariffnomenclature, types ofduties, general description ofthecustoms tariff
structure, weighted average levelofduties onmain customs tariff groupings
ThecustomstariffnomenclatureisbasedontheHarmonizedCommodityDescriptionandCoding
System, applied since 1January 1992.
Inaddition tothesix-digit subheadings oftheHarmonized System, aseventh digitisusedfor
thepurposes oftheArab Maghreb Union andaneighth fornational requirements.
Thecustoms duties listed inthetariff areduties based onvalue (advalorem duties).
Thetariff alsoincludes thefollowing customs dutyrates: exemption, 3,7,15,25,40and
60percent. Thetariff iscomposed ofeight product groups representing 6,112 tariff subheadings.
The1996 Finance Actlowered themaximum 60percentrate. Themaximum ratecurrently
applied is50percent.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Thedistribution ofsubheadings byproduct group, inaccordance withtheHarmonized System
classification, isasfollows:
- Food 657
- Energy andlubricants 88
- Unprocessed products 514
- Semi-finished products 1,989
- Agricultural capital goods 52
- Industrial capital goods 1,114
- Consumer goods 1,691
- Industrial gold 7
Following theamendment of354tariffsubheadings in1996, thecurrent breakdown ofcustoms
tariff ratescompared with1994 isasfollows:
1994 1996
Exemption 137 104
3% 656 670
7% 1,192 1,290
15% 1,219 1,293
25% 754 790
40% 933 790
50% 0 1,520
60% 1,221 0
(ii) Application ofMFN tariff rates
Since 1972, Algeria hasdiscontinued thediscriminatory application ofthedouble customs tariff
andgrants defacto thebenefit oftheMFN clause totheGATT contracting parties.
(iii) Tariff preferences
Thenational customs tariff comprises onlyonecolumn ofcustoms duties. Tariff preferences
areprovided forinthecontext ofthetrade andtariff conventions between Algeria andthecountries
oftheArabMaghreb Union. Theconventions inquestion provide forexemption fromcustoms duties
andcharges ofequivalent effect onoriginal ortraded products.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page48
(c) Tariff quotas, tariff exemptions
Astheregulations stand atpresent, nonon-tariff measures (quotas orlicences) areapplied.
Moreover,thetotalnumberofsubheadingsinthenationaltariff,towhichimportdutyexemptions
areapplicable, fellfrom 137to104between 1994 and1996.
Tariff exemptions arealsogranted under international agreements, asinthecaseofthe
exemptions applied intrade between Algeria andthecountries oftheArab Maghreb Union.
(d) Other duties andcharges, including charges forservices rendered
Thefollowing duties andcharges areapplied toimports intoAlgeria:
- Warranty feesongoldandprecious metals;
- slaughter taxapplicable toimports ofliveanimals;
- feeforcustoms formalities, fixed at2percent;
- customs fee,fixed at4permil.
Thelattertwofeesarecollected withevery import declaration. Asfarasexports areconcerned,
onlythefeeof4permiliscollected withthedeclaration.
(e) Quantitative import restrictions, including prohibitions, quotas andlicensing systems
Therestrictions onmerchandise imports intoAlgeria taketheformofprohibitions applicable
tocertain products suchasnarcotic drugs, weapons, etc.
Moreover, thecurrent sizeofthefoodbillandthefurther increases andrepercussions towhich
itcould giveriseintheyears ahead, taking intoaccount population growth andtheupward spiral of
international prices forthedifferent products, callforconsideration tobegiven totheintroduction
ofimport controls, including quotas overalimited period ifnecessary.
(f) Import licensing procedures
Algeria doesnotatpresent haveanimport licensing system.
(g) Other border measures
Theborder measures applied toimports intoAlgeria concern product quality andsanitary and
veterinary controls.
Inaddition, theimportation ofcertain products ismade subject totheissue ofaprior
authorization ortechnical certificate bycertain Ministries, particularly inthecaseofmedicinal products
(Ministry ofHealth andPopulation), hunting weapons (Ministry ofNational Defence andNational
Security Directorate) andbookshop articles (Ministry ofInformation andCulture).
(h) Customs valuation
Algeria isacontracting partytotheBrussels Convention ontheValuation ofGoods forCustoms
Purposes of5December 1950. Customs value isdefined inArticle 16oftheCustoms Code.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page49
(i) Preshipment inspection
Algerian imports arenotcurrently subject topreshipment inspection. There arenoregulations
governing thisactivity inAlgeria.
(j) Application ofinternal taxes onimports
Thefollowing internal taxes onimports havebeenintroduced under theFinance Acts:
- Value-added tax,since 1January 1991;
- specific surcharge, since 1994;
- roadusefee;
- internal consumption duties onhydrocarbons, alcohol andtobacco.
These taxes are,ofcourse, applied toboththeimport trade andlocalprocessing ofthesame
products.
(k) Rules oforigin
Therulesoforigin arelaiddown inArticle 14etseq.oftheCustoms Code, which stipulates
thatthecountry oforigin ofgoods isthecountry where theyweremined, harvested ormanufactured.
Itshould bepointed thattherulesoforigin applicable totrade withthecountries oftheArab
MaghrebUnion(AMU)andtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity(EEC)arecoveredbyaspecialregime,
onaccount ofthemarket access privileges granted inrespect oftrade incertain products.
Asregards theAMU, agricultural products andproducts ofthesoilandsubsoil extracted or
produced inoneofthemember countries areconsidered tooriginate wholly inthatcountry. Moreover,
processed industrial products incorporating imported components musthaveacquired anadded value
equivalent tonolessthan40percent(Libya andMorocco), 50percent(Tunisia) and40percent(AMU
Convention notyetinforce) oftheex-works value ofthefinished product.
Asfarasexports totheEECcountries areconcerned, agricultural andfishery products and
products ofthesoilandsubsoil produced inAlgeria areconsidered tobeofwholly Algerian origin.
Processed industrial products incorporating imported components musthaveacquired anadded value
ofatleast50percentoftheex-works value ofthefinished product.
(l) Anti-dumping regime
Article 8bisoftheCustoms Code provides forsurcharges toensure thataStatedoesnottake
discriminatory measures likely toentail less-favourable treatment forAlgerian products thanforthe
products ofother States, oradopt measures likely toimpede Algerian trade. Increases incustoms duties
areadopted byexecutive decree.
Todate, noprovisions havebeenadopted pursuant tothisarticle.
(m) Countervailing dutyregime
Article 8teroftheCustoms Code provides forcountervailing duties toprevent imports from
causing orthreatening tocause injury toanexisting orplanned national industry.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Countervailingdutieswereintroducedin1992foralimitedperiodofoneyear,fromMarch1992
toMarch 1993 (Executive Decree No.92-123 of23March 1992 andInterministerial Order of
7July1992supplementing thelistofproducts subject tocountervailing duties). These countervailing
dutyarrangements arenownolonger applied.
(n) Safeguard regime
Todate, themeasures prescribed under thesafeguard regime havenever beenimplemented
inpractice.
2. Export regulation
(a) Registration requirements forengaging inexporting
Operators involved inexport transactions inAlgeria arerequired to:
- Keep acommercial register;
- arrange forthedomiciliation ofproforma invoices drawn uponbehalf offoreign
clients;
- mandatorily repatriate theproceeds ofexport transactions within atime-limit laiddown
bytheBank ofAlgeria.
(b) Customs tariff nomenclature, types ofduties, dutyrates, weighted averages ofrates
Algeria hasnocustoms tariff nomenclature specifically forexports.
(c) Quantitative export restrictions, including prohibitions, quotas andlicensing systems
Pursuant totheprovisions oftheInterministerial Order establishing thelistofgoods temporarily
barred from export, thefollowing goods aresubject toexport restrictions inAlgeria:
- Palm treeseedlings;
- breeding sheep andcattle;
- objects ofnational interest from thehistorical, artistic orarchaeological standpoint,
including vintage vehicles.
(d) Export licensing procedures
Algeria hasnoexport licensing regime.
(e) Other measures (minimum export prices, voluntary export restrictions, orderly marketing
arrangements)
Minimum prices areestablished fortheexport ofdatesandrawhides orskins. Minimum export
prices forsuchproducts aresetinaccordance withrules laiddown bytheMinistry ofTrade. The
rules areessentially concerned withpreventing capital flight.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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(f) Export financing, subsidy andpromotion policies
Under aspecial export promotion fund, resources aremobilized tocover partoftheexpenditure
entailed bysurveys ofexternal markets, information forexporters, improving thequality ofgoods
andservices intended forexport, participation inforeign fairsandexhibitions, andspecific requirements
withregard toexport financing andthefacilitation ofinternational transport andhandling operations
inAlgerian ports.
Inaddition, aspecial institution, CAGEX (Algerian Export Insurance andGuarantee Fund),
takes responsibility forsome oftheguarantees -especially those ofapolitical nature -furnished to
firms involved inorganizing export credit transactions.
(g) Export performance requirements
Noexport performance requirements areimposed inAlgeria.
(h) Import dutydrawback schemes
Twoimport dutydrawback schemes areoperated inAlgeria:
- Thetemporary admission scheme forthereexport ofgoods afterprocessing. Under
thisscheme, noimport duties arepaid;
- thedrawback scheme proper, which makes itpossible torecover some oftheduties
imposed onproducts incorporated inexport merchandise (Article 190oftheCustoms
Code).
3. Internal policies affecting foreign trade ingoods
(a) Industrial policy
Afundamental feature oftheindustrial sector isthestriking disparity between:
- Ontheonehand, industries involved intheproduction ofhydrocarbon resources, both
liquidandgaseous,whichconstitutethemostdynamicsegmentoftheAlgerianeconomy,
occupy acomfortable niche inthehighly volatile world energy market and,above all,
continue toaccount forthebulkofthecountry 'sexport earnings; and
- ontheotherhand, thewiderange ofotherhighly diversified industrial activities, whose
economic performance remains moderate overall andwhich arecurrently undergoing
aradical restructuring made necessary interaliabytheeffects oftheliberalization
ofAlgeria 'seconomic andforeign trade management procedures.
(i) Energy sector policy
Theenergy sector accounts forapproximately 30percentofGDP. More importantly, however,
itscontribution tothegeneration ofexternal resources isofvitalimportance tothenational economy.
Exports bythissector regularly represent more than95percentofthetotalvolume ofnational exports.
Thesector wasforced toadapt tointernational economic trends bydiversifying itsoutput and
exports. Recent years haveseenproducts other thancrude oilassume much greater importance in
thehierarchy ofenergy exports. They include distillates, natural gasandrefined products.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Energy policy
Algeria 'sconcerns inthisfieldarethose ofadeveloping economy seeking tomeetfastgrowing
domestic energy needs, toensure thelong-term satisfaction ofthose needs, andatthesame timeto
guarantee thenecessary financing byobtaining asubstantial proportion ofitsexternal payment resources
through export earnings.
Thefundamental principle ofAlgerian energy policy overthelongtermistheachievement
ofabalance between thesatisfaction ofinternal needs andexports. Athree-pronged strategy isbeing
pursued:developmentofhydrocarbonresourcesandofproductionandtransportcapacity;rationalization
andinternal useofenergy; andfinally, thereorganization anddiversification ofexports toachieve
maximum returns.
Theimplementation ofthisstrategy called foragradual overhaul ofthelegislative framework
in1986 and1991. Thefollowing arethemost important newprovisions oftheBasic Lawon
hydrocarbons:
- Extension togasproduction oftheregime previously applicable toliquid hydrocarbons;
- extension oftheinvolvement offoreign companies toinclude theoperation ofnewly
discovered deposits aswellasdeposits already being worked;
- greater fiscal incentives, withpossibilities ofrebates onfeesandincome taxes, inorder
todirect research toareas ofinadequate development;
- finally, theintroduction ofinternational arbitration forthesettlement ofdisputes that
might arisebetween Algerian companies andtheirforeign partners.
Thedevelopment plan
Theenergy strategy hasalsogiven risetotheelaboration ofasectoral development planaimed
essentially atalong-term increase inthelevelofexports. Theplanlaysdown thefollowing linesof
approach:
Intensification ofexploration activities
Upto1986, only10percentoftotaldeposits hadbeensurveyed. Thenewlawadopted in
1986 andamended in1991 hasmade itpossible tostepupprospecting activities andhasgiven areal
boost toproduction incooperation withtheforeign partners.
Prospecting efforts areconcentrated ontheSouth EastoftheSahara, which hasaricher
geological baseandreputed potential, together withtransport facilities, buttheyarealsobeing extended
tounexplored areas, withtheaimofmaking them more attractive from theexploration standpoint.
Improvement oftheyield from deposits being worked
Thepurpose ofthe"Association forWorking Deposits" (AGE) istomaintain orenhance the
rateofrecovery which currently stands atanaverage of23percent.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Development ofknown butunexploited gasdeposits
Thebasic aimofthisprogramme isaconcrete increase inthevolume ofdeposits available
forexport.
Increase innatural gasexport capacity bymeans of:
- Completion oftheongoing modernization ofliquefied natural gas(LNG) complexes,
toobtain acapacity ofbetween 20and30billion m3peryear;
- increase inthecapacity ofthe"Transmed" gaspipeline from 16to24billion m3per
year(gaspipeline toItaly, inservice);
- construction oftheMaghreb-Europe GasPipeline (GME) toachieve anexport capacity
of7billion m3peryearinthefirstphase (gaspipeline totheSpanish andPortuguese
markets, under construction).
Thefollowing arethemain results expected from thedevelopment plan:
- Doubling ofnatural gasexports (from 35to60billion m3peryear);
- doubling ofliquefied petroleum gas(LPG) exports (from 3.7to8million tonnes);
- increase intheproduction ofpetroleum anddistillate (from 51.3to56.3MTperyear).
(ii) Restructuring ofAlgerian industry
Therestructuringofthenationalnon-energysectoristodayanessentialprerequisiteforeconomic
recovery. Thisjudgement islargely borne outbytheoverall lacklustre performance oftheestablished
industrial production system, which hascontinued topostzeroornegative growth ratesforanumber
ofyears.
Moreover, thisrestructuring ismade inevitable bytheinability ofthehydrocarbon sector to
continue byitself toguarantee thefinancing ofeconomic development, aswellasbytheworldwide
changes intheindustry asawhole, which haveultimately sidelined alocalindustrial model sheltered
fortoolongfrom international competition.
Thenewrestructuring policy isbased onthefollowing objectives:
- Reducing theweak points ofnational industries, suchastheir concentration ona
relatively narrow domestic market, theirheavy reliance onimports, theunderutilization
ofcapacity, technological backwardness andobsolete manufacturing techniques;
- improving theforeign exchange balance oftheindustrial sector bygreater internal plant
integration andbyamore pronounced slanttowards export activities;
- increasingly extensive participation bytheprivate sector inindustrial activities, both
through thestimulation ofnewinvestment bynational orforeign private entrepreneurs
andthrough themore extensive privatization ofgovernment assets.
Theconduct ofpublic industrial policy isbased onthefollowing guidelines:WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- Identification ofsectors indecline andofsectors orbranches ofactivity inwhich the
State wishes tomaintain apresence asapermanent ortemporary shareholder;
- lessening ofthecurrent heavy dependence onimported inputs, through thepromotion
ofsubstitute facilities andresources and,ofcourse, through theliberalization ofstocks,
andparticularly through efforts toteamupwithforeign industrial partners;
- support forthedevelopment ofsectors concerned withinfrastructure, foodandthe
social requirements ofthepopulation, aswellasthesectors producing construction
equipment, public works equipment, pharmaceuticals andhydraulic equipment;
- promotion ofnewexport activities, outside thetraditional hydrocarbon sector;
- promotion ofhuman resources, training, innovation andresearch anddevelopment,
designed toimprove theoverall performance oftheindustrial sector.
Industrial policy isgeared essentially tothestrengthening andpromotion ofanetwork ofsmall
andmedium-sized enterprises andindustries, backed upbyprivate manufacturers.
Theaimsaretoprovide systematic encouragement forinvestment insmall andmedium-sized
businesses, tosupport theiremergence through therestructuring andprivatization ofexisting industrial
potential andtoslanttheiractivities, asamatter ofpriority, towards thedevelopment ofsubcontracting,
theoptimum useoflocalresources andthepromotion ofexports.
Thesystem ofincentives willbebased onthefollowing linesofapproach:
- Continuedstreamliningoftheinstitutionalenvironmentthroughtheabolitionofindustrial
monopolies, freedom ofaccess toforeign trade, thedevelopment ofcompetition and
efforts tofacilitate theexercise ofindustrial andcommercial activities;
- adaptation ofthebanking andfinancial system totheneeds ofsmall andmedium sized
businesses through thereadjustment ofcredit policy, encouragement ofprivate banks
andmodernization ofinvestment support instruments;
- thegeneral reduction ofthetaxburden onsmall andmedium-sized businesses, aswell
asoftheindirect costoftheirsocial overheads andpayroll burden;
- introduction ofanintegrated policy ofassistance withtheestablishment ofsmall and
medium-sized businesses, backed upbytraining schemes formanagers andthe
development ofproject banks.
(b) Quality control policy, technical regulations andstandards
(i) Monitoring andpromotion ofquality
Theimplementation ofeconomic reforms andtheliberalization offoreign trade haveresulted
inagreater awareness, onthepartofalltheeconomic operators, oftheimportance oftheconcept
of"quality", asreflected inparticular inthenewmarketing andcompetition rules.
Itisagainst thisbackground that,since 1989, thepublic authorities havepursued anational
policy forthemonitoring andpromotion ofquality, based essentially on:WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- Strengthening ofthelegislation governing quality andthesuppression offraud;
- development ofcontrol capabilities andofthephysical andtechnical basisforquality
assessment;
- establishmentofaninformationsystemandimplementationofprogrammesofassistance
forthebenefit oftheeconomic operators, ontheonehand, andtheoperational services
responsible forcontrol, ontheother hand.
Strengthening ofthelegislation governing quality
LawNo.89-02 of7February 1989ongeneral consumer protection rulesconstitutes thebasic
legalinstrument fortheprotection ofthemoral andmaterial interests ofconsumers.
Thepurpose ofthisimportant piece oflegislation istolaydown general rulesfortheprotection
ofconsumers throughout theprocess ofmarketing oftheproduct and/or service, having regard toits
quality andirrespective ofthelegalstatus oftheoperator.
Theprocess ofmaking aproduct orservice available forconsumption comprises alloperations
from thestage ofinitial creation untilfinalsupply forconsumption (Article 1ofLawNo.89-02 of
7February 1989).
Themain principles enunciated intheLawconcern:
- Protection ofthematerial andmoral interests ofconsumers, either individually orin
anassociative framework;
- compliance withthestatutory andregulatory specifications andstandards defining the
quality ofgoods forconsumption;
- organization ofasystem ofquality control forgoods andservices placed onthemarket.
Onthebasis oftheprinciples setoutintheLaw, asetofimplementing regulations hasbeen
adopted andhasserved tostrengthen theforce ofthelegalmachinery putinplace. Theimplementing
regulations aremainly concerned with:
- Quality control andthesuppression offraud (Decree No.90-39 of30January 1990);
- guaranteesforgoodsandservices(ExecutiveDecreeNo.90-266of15September1990);
- labelling offoodstuffs andnon-food household products (Decrees Nos. 90-366 and
90-367 of10November 1990);
- control ofthequality andconformity ofimported orexported products (Decree
No.93-47 of6February 1993) andoflocally manufactured products.
Allthese regulations, taken together, aredesigned toensure enhanced protection bothforthe
consumer andforthenational economy asawhole.
Forexample, theprovisions onproduct labelling, hygiene, guarantees andconformity provide
anappropriate legalframework enabling consumers toprotect andsafeguard theirmoral andmaterial
interests.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Moreover, theadoption ofspecific regulations laying down thequalitative requirements for
goods andservices helps tofoster progress, while fitting intoaprocess ofcompetitiveness and
competition.
Lastly,thegradualadaptationtointernationalstandardsofnationallyproducedgoodsisapositive
stepforthepromotion oftrade andaboost tonon-hydrocarbon exports.
Development ofcontrol capabilities andofthephysical andtechnical basis forquality assessment
Thepublic authorities haveinrecent years made amajor effort tostrengthen quality control
capabilities, interms ofbothsanctions andprevention.
The"control" function hasbeen upgraded through organizational adjustments serving to
rationalize quality control.
Itisworth mentioning thatasaresult ofthereorganization ofthequality control structures,
completed during the1991financial year, thefollowing structures andagencies havebeenestablished:
Atcentral government level
Product quality andsafety department
Thisbody isresponsible forshaping thebroad lines ofnational quality control policy, in
particular bystudying waysandmeans topromote quality andelaborate general orspecific regulations
onthequality ofgoods andservices.
Central inspectorate foreconomic investigation andthesuppression offraud
Thisbody exercises supervisory powers intheeconomic field. Inthisconnection, itdraws
upmonitoring programmes andensures optimum economic performance, interaliathrough quality
control andthesuppression offraud carried outbyoperational units oftheMinistry ofTrade.
Atthedecentralized level
Competition andprice directorates ofthewilayat
These operational units, which areestablished inevery provincial capital, exercise economic
supervision, particularly inthecontext ofquality control andsuppression offraud.
Regional inspectorates foreconomic investigation andthesuppression offraud
Within theirterritorial jurisdiction, theseregional inspectorates, ofwhich thereareseven, bear
overall responsibility forthecompetition andprice directorates andhavemonitoring andfollow-up
power regarding theoperational units responsible foreconomic controls.
Intermediate agencies
There arethree important agencies withadministrative powers, namely:
- TheAlgerian Quality andPackaging Control Centre (CACQE);
- theAlgerian Standardization andIndustrial Property Institute (INAPI);WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- theNational Metrology Office (ONML).
Theoperationalunitsactiveinqualitycontrolhavebeengivensupplementaryhumanandmaterial
resources, which hasmade itpossible tostrengthen thecontrol mechanism inrecent years, particularly
asregards border controls.
Theimplementation ofthese quality control measures hasnecessitated thedevelopment and
strengthening ofexisting resources inthefieldofanalytical assessment.
Inthisconnection, itisworth mentioning thatDecree No.91-192 of11June1991laiddown
theconditions foropening andlicensing quality assessment laboratories, while atthesame time
classifying them.
Onthebasis ofthese regulations, existing national capabilities capacities wereevaluated and
astudy wasinitiated toestablish anational assessment andtestnetwork (laboratory network).
Sidebysidewiththeproject fortheestablishment ofanational assessment network, aplan
hasbeenworked outforthedevelopment ofquality control laboratories andthesuppression offraud.
Strengthening ofinformation arrangements andimplementation ofassistance programmes
Given theparticular emphasis ondialogue andcommunication inthenational quality control
policy, thepriority schemes launched bythepublic authorities havebeenconcerned mainly with:
Strengthening thecommunity-based consumer protection movement
Thismovement isexpected togrow stronger intheyears ahead. Anoteworthy development
overtheveryshort termwillbetheestablishment oftheNational Consumer Protection Council set
upbyExecutive Decree No.92-272 of6July1992. TheCouncil willberesponsible forissuing
opinions, interaliaon:
- Anymeasure likely tocontribute toimproved prevention ofpotential risksfromgoods
andservices placed onthemarket, withaview tosafeguarding theinterests of
consumers;
- theestablishment andimplementation ofassistance programmes adopted forthebenefit
ofconsumer associations;
- anymatter concerning thequality ofgoods andservices.
Thedevelopment ofcommunication andassistance
With thedevelopment ofacommunication policy, particularly inthecourse of1995, ithas
beenpossible toinitiate three types ofproject:
- Establishment ofadatabase capable ofsupplying economic operators withspecific
information;
- organization ofmedia information andawareness campaigns, through television and
thewritten press (production ofadverts, press articles) andthecreation ofabulletin
concerned withquality;WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- efforts toestablish newagencies concerned withcommunication andconsultation in
thefield ofquality (Chambers ofCommerce, consumer associations andquality
improvement groups).
Inregard toassistance, cooperation programmes have been initiated atbothbilateral and
multilateral level(UNDP-UNIDO-FAO), facilitating thedevelopment oftraining andretraining schemes
andassistance programmes.
Lastly, itshould benoted that,attheinternational level, Algeria takes anactive partinthe
work ofspecialized bodies liketheCodex Alimentarius Commission.
(ii) Standards andcertificates
TheAlgerian Standardization andIntellectual Property Institute (INAPI), setupin1973, is
responsible forstandardization andcertification matters.
TheINAPI isagovernmental industrial andcommercial institution, under thesupervision of
theMinistry ofIndustry andRestructuring. Itisresponsible for:
- Implementing standardization procedures;
- centralizing andcoordinating allstandardization activities undertaken byexisting bodies
orthose tobesetupforthepurpose;
- theelaboration, publication anddissemination ofAlgerian standards;
- theadoption ofmarks ofconformity withstandards andquality marks, andtheissue
ofauthorizations forsuchmarks andcontrol oftheiruse,within theframework ofthe
legislation inforce;
- thepromotion ofstudies, research andtestsinAlgeria orabroad, andthedevelopment
oftesting facilities needed toestablish andguarantee implementation ofstandards.
Within thelimits ofitspowers andfortheimplementation ofLaw No.89-23 of
19December 1989onstandardization, theINAPI isassisted byaCouncil onstandardization guidelines
andcoordination, composed ofallthesectors concerned bystandardization questions.
TheAlgerian Standardization System islargely based oninternational practice. TheSystem
isgoverned bythefollowing lawsandregulations:
- LawNo.89-23 of19December 1989 which laysdown thegeneral framework for
standardization activity anditsdirect corollary, certification;
- Executive Decree No.90-132 of15May1990, ontheorganization andoperation of
thestandardization System;
- thefourimplementing orders which, interalia,define thenecessary technical organs
andthestandardization procedures.
TheAlgerian Standardization System provides fortwocategories ofstandards:
- Approved standards, which aremandatory;WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- registered standards, which areoptional.
Todate,47national technical committees haveadopted 4,000 Algerian standards, nearly 200
ofwhich areapproved standards.
Withregardtoconformityassessment,andtomeetthequalityrequirementswhichnowconstitute
aprerequisite forallcommercial transactions, theINAPI launched amajor project in1992 forthe
purpose ofpromoting improved quality inAlgeria.
Theproject isaimed atestablishing anAlgerian system forthecertification ofconformity with
product standards. Thefirstphase hasbeencompleted andthesecond phase willcover thefollowing
fields:
- Accreditation;
- certification ofquality systems;
- product certification;
- certification ofpersons;
- certification ofservices.
Thesystem willbeinconformity withISO-IEC certification andaccreditation guidelines.
(c) Sanitary andphytosanitary measures
(i) Sanitary measures
Imports ofliveanimals andanimal products
Thisactivity isgoverned byLawNo.88-08 of26January 1988 onveterinary medicine and
theprotection ofanimal health andbyExecutive Decree No.91-452 of16November 1991onveterinary
inspections atborder posts.
Imports ofanimals andanimal products capable ofpropagating contagious animal diseases
tomenoranimals areprohibited.
Importers ofsuchproducts aretherefore required toobtain awaiver oftheabove-mentioned
prohibition fromthenational veterinary authority, i.e.theofficial veterinary services oftheMinistry
ofAgriculture (Veterinary Services Directorate), onthebasis ofthesanitary situation inthecountry
oforigin.
Thewaiver takes theform ofadocument certifying thatnodisease subject tocompulsory
declaration hasbeenreported intheplace, areaorcountry oforigin oftheproducts concerned.
Itisissued onthebasis ofthesanitary situation inthecountry oforigin.
Thesanitary information inquestion issupplied by:
(a) Countries withwhich Algeria enjoys relations inthefieldofanimal health (signed
agreement between thetwocountries);WT/ACC/DZA/1
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(b) theInternational Office ofEpizooties (IOE), aninternational organization towhich
Algeria isaffiliated.
Imports ofanimals areauthorized onlyfromcountries where thesanitary situation isatleast
thesame asinAlgeria.
Thesanitary (bacteriological, toxicological andisotopic) requirements fortheimport ofanimal
products and/or products ofanimal origin mustconform torecognized international standards, such
asthose oftheCodex Alimentarius.
Imports ofpharmaceutical products forveterinary use
Themarketing ofpharmaceutical andorganic products forveterinary useisgoverned bythe
lawsandregulations inforce. Noveterinary drugmaybeplaced onthemarket unless ithasbeen
firstauthorized bytheMinistry ofAgriculture.
Themarketing authorization (AMM) isgranted bydecision oftheMinister ofAgriculture and
ontheproposal oftheInterministerial Commission setupforthatpurpose.
Exports ofanimals andanimal products
Animals areexported inaccordance withinternational sanitary standards based onschedules
ofanimal diseases subject tocompulsory declaration andlaboratory findings, particularly inthe
serological field. Forexports ofanimal products, essentially fishery products, ascheme forthelicensing
ofestablishments responsible forprocessing suchproducts iscurrently being carried outjointly with
theEEC, asisascheme fortheintroduction ofpreshipment bacteriological andtoxicological testing
ofsuchproducts.
Exports ofanimals oranimal products arealsosubject toasanitary export exemption issued
bytheveterinary services oftheMinistry ofAgriculture withtheaimofguaranteeing thesanitary
condition ofsuchproducts.
Exports ofpharmaceutical products forveterinary use
Exports ofveterinary products aresubject toaspecial waiver issued bytheveterinary services
oftheMinistry ofAgriculture.
(ii) Phytosanitary andagricultural pesticide controls
Phytosanitary andagricultural pesticide controls aregoverned byLaw No.87-17 of
1August 1987 onphytosanitary protection andregulated byExecutive Decree No.93-139 of
14June1993, which assigns theroleofnational phytosanitary authority totheNational PlantProtection
Institute (INPV).
Thisgovernmental authority exercises phytosanitary andagricultural pesticide controls within
thenational territory andattheborders.
Internal phytosanitary controls
These controls arebased onsurveillance operations andaction tocombat prohibited croppests
within thenational territory. Themachinery developed covers animal andvegetable organisms, theWT/ACC/DZA/1
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manifestation orpropagation ofwhich must berigorously prevented byestablishing astrict system
ofdetection.
Thelawscurrently being enacted establish alistofplant pests considered dangerous. The
species orgenera onthelistwereincluded onaccount oftheeconomic damage theyhaveactually done
tocrops inthepast(asinthecaseofSanJoséscale, thekhapra beetle, datepalm blight, dodder and
broomrape), orbecause ofthepotential danger theyrepresent given theircapacity tospread viaseeds
andseedlings (asinthecaseofbeetles andborers, scale insects, capnodis, etc.).
Phytosanitary border controls
Border controls ofplants, plantproducts andplantmaterial areapreventive measure designed
toprotect Algerian agriculture fromtheintroduction andcolonization ofdangerous croppests. The
relevant regulatory framework isprovided bythefollowing texts:
- Executive Decree No.93-286 of23November 1993 regulating phytosanitary border
controls;
- Ministerial Order No.32of13January 1992onphytosanitary conditions fortheimport
ofplants andparts ofliving plants offruitandornamental species;
- Ministerial Order No.306SPMof18November 1995requiring technical authorization
forimports ofpotato tubers laying down specific phytosanitary requirements.
These regulations focus onthree main linesofapproach, namely:
Theschedule ofprohibitions andrestrictions
AnnexItoDecreeNo.93-286of23November1993containsaScheduleAofharmfulorganisms
barred from importation intoAlgeria, irrespective oftheirbiological forms, andaSchedule Bof
prohibited harmful organisms found onaparticular plant medium.
Annex IItothesame Decree setsoutthelistofplants andplantproducts subject tomandatory
phytosanitary border controls. Forallimports, theborder customs services require controls tobecarried
outbythephytosanitary services prior tocustoms clearance.
Order No.32of13January 1962 establishes thelistoffruitandhorticultural species barred
from importation because theymight introduce epidemic diseases.
Order No.306SPMof18November 1995requires technical authorization forimports ofpotato
tubers andlaysdown specific phytosanitary requirements.
Points ofentry
Inaccordance withtheInternational Plant Protection Convention, eachmember country of
theFAO must adopt regulations indicating theofficial points through which plant products maybe
imported orexported. InthecaseofAlgeria, thepoints inquestion weredesignated byDecree No.
93-283 of23November 1993 andcomprise:
- Ten(10)seaentry points (ports);
- six(6)landentry points;WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- eight (8)airentry points (airports).
Eachofthesepointsofentryismannedbyaninspector,workingfull-time(inports)ordepending
onthefrequency ofconsignments (atairports). Noimport orexport controls ofplants, plantproducts
orplant material canbeeffected outside these entry points.
Exercise ofcontrol
Allplant products included intheschedule attached toAnnex IIofDecree No.93-283 of
23November 1993 aresubject tocompulsory phytosanitary inspection.
Thisschedule isaworking guide forthecustoms services, sothatnoproduct ontheschedule
mayleave thecustoms enclosure without afreecirculation licence issued byauthorized inspecting
officers, which attests thattheconsignment ofplants orplant products hasbeeninspected andisin
conformity withthephytosanitary regulations inforce.
Consignmentsofplants,plantproductsandplantmaterialforexportmustmeetthephytosanitary
requirements oftheimporting countries. They aresubject tocompulsory inspection and,ifthe
regulations oftheimporting country sorequire, theymustbeaccompanied byaphytosanitary certificate
issued bydulyauthorized officials.
Phytosanitary inspections forimport orexport purposes arecarried outbyofficially appointed
inspectors. Onlyofficials whose names appear onthelistestablished byDecision No.1032DCT/IMPV
of16August 1995 areempowered tocarry outphytosanitary inspections andtosigntheofficial
documents finalizing thecontrols. These officials arerecognized bythecourts andspecimens oftheir
signatures aredeposited withthephytosanitary authority andthecustoms services.
Inperforming theirduties andformalizing theirdecisions, inspectors arerequired torelyon:
- Thecontent ofthetechnical documents accompanying themerchandise andissued by
theofficial services oftheexporting country;
- theirownfindings, made visually orbymicroscope.
Thephytosanitary border inspection postsmayalso,forthepurpose ofdetailed analyses, enlist
thescientific support ofthenational laboratory forexpert detection anddiagnosis, aswellastheregional
diagnostic laboratories runbytheINPV.
Control ofagricultural pesticides
Thisactivity isgoverned byLawNo.87-17 of1August 1987andtheimplementing regulations
thereto, which areconcerned, interalia,withtheconditions ofmanufacture, importation, distribution,
marketing andutilization ofphytosanitary products foragricultural use; thelatter must becleared
byaprior certificate ofapproval issued bythephytosanitary authority afterinvestigation byandon
therecommendation oftheNational Phytosanitary Products Commission.
Importation anddistribution
Theimportation anddistribution ofphytosanitary products foragricultural useissubject to
anauthorization issued bythephytosanitary authority. Thisprocedure enables theoperators concerned
tobeidentified and,atthesametime, facilitates qualitative control atthepoints ofentryanddistribution.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Manufacture
Themanufacture ofphytosanitary products foragricultural useisauthorized afterinvestigation
andapproval bytheCommission, which checks thatthemanufacturing process isinconformity with
thelegislation inforce.
Useofphytosanitary products
Withaviewtoguarding against theharmful effects oftheinappropriate useofpesticides, the
relevant measure isdesigned toregulate thisactivity byauthorizing specialized andqualified enterprises
oragencies tohandle phytosanitary products.
International relations
TheInstitute, initscapacity asaDesignated National Authority (AND), represents Algeria
inrelations withregional andinternational plant protection organizations.
Accordingly, itmaintains relations withseveral organizations, including:
- TheFood andAgriculture Organization oftheUnited Nations (FAO)
Basic text: Decree No.85-112 of7May 1985 onaccession byAlgeria tothe
International Plant Protection Convention (IPCC), signed atRome on
16December 1951;
- theArab Maghreb Union (AMU)
Basic text: Presidential Decree No.90-423 of22December 1990, onratification of
theconvention between thecountries oftheArab Maghreb Union (AMU) relating to
phytosanitary matters, signed atAlgiers on23July1990;
- theEuropean andMediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO, Paris);
- theInter-African Phytosanitary Council oftheScientific, Technical andResearch
Commission (CRI/STCR/OAU, Yaoundé);
- theNear EastPlant Protection Organization (NEPPO).
(d) Trade-related investment measures
Algerian legislation oninvestment comprises nomeasures capable ofhaving arestrictive or
distorting effect ontrade. Itisinconformity withtheprovisions ofArticle III(national treatment)
andArticle XI(general elimination ofquantitative restrictions) oftheGeneral Agreement.
(e) State-trading practices
Since 1988, pursuant totheso-called General Principles ActonPublic Enterprises (Law
No.88-01 of12January 1988) therules previously applied toState-owned companies have been
completely recast. Suchcompanies, which wereformerly considered tocome under thedirect authority
oftheMinistries,weregivenastatuswhichplacedthemonthesamefooting(subjecttocertainprovisions
concerning theassignment oftheirassets) asprivate lawcompanies governed bytheCommercial Code.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Inthemeantime, twolawsadopted in1995 -ontheprivatization ofpublic enterprises and
onthemanagement oftheState'scommercial capital -confirm thefullapplicability ofCommercial
Code rules topublic companies. Trading bypublic companies, notwithstanding thespecific status
oftheirultimate owner, isgoverned inallrespects bythesameprovisions asthose applicable toprivate
companies.
Inpractice,theimportationoffoodproductscontinuestobecontrolledbytwomajorgovernment
agencies which havenotyetundergone achange ofstatus inaccordance withtherules governing
companies, namely:
- TheAlgerian Inter-Trade Cereals Office (OAIC), and
- theNational Food Supply Enterprise (ENAPAL).
However:
- Delays inharmonizing thestatutes ofthese government agencies areduemainly to
theneedforfinancial rationalization, having regard totheburdens imposed uponthem
bytheStateinthecontext ofitsearlier pricestabilization policy applied tofoodproducts
forpublic consumption;
- these government agencies havenone oftheattributes ofatrading monopoly. Any
other enterprise, whether public orprivate, continues toenjoy freedom toimport the
same products.
Nevertheless, theelimination ofmonopolies isaslowprocess, particularly insectors requiring
substantial investment, anddefactomonopolies continue toexist, although theyarebeing broken up.
Forthemostpart,suchmonopoliesareexercisedbyfirmsimportingstrategicfoodstuffsandrawmaterial
andsemi-finished products required fortheproduction process. Thesame applies toconstruction
materials suchascement, wood andsteel, market areas which areincreasingly being penetrated by
private firms.
(f) Freezones
Algeria hasnofreezones atthepresent time. Pursuant toLegislative Decree No.93-12 on
thepromotion ofinvestment, which provides fortheestablishment ofindustrial freezones forexports,
anExecutive Decree (No.94-32) hasbeenenacted todraw uptheprocedures forthemanagement
andestablishment offreezones.
(g) Freeeconomic zones
Algeria hasnoeconomic zones ofthiskind, butdoesnotruleoutthepossibility ofestablishing
suchzones, ifnecessary, inaccordance withthenational policy ofinvestment promotion.
(h) Trade-related environmental policies
Theconcept ofenvironmental protection isexplicitly recognized byLaw No.83-02 of
5February1983.ResponsibilityforimplementationlieswiththeMinistryoftheInterior,whichincludes
ageneral directorate forthatpurpose initsorganizational structure.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Themainenvironmental aspects oftradeconcern themanufacture, transportation andmarketing
ofdangerous products (particularly chemicals, explosives, etc.), which arealsocovered bythenational
legislation inforce, through special statutes ontheprotection ofhealth, consumers, animal health, etc.
Furthermore, Algeria hasratified theWTO Decision onTrade andEnvironment, adopted in
Marrakesh inApril 1994, which recognizes theneed"toidentify therelationship between trademeasures
andenvironmental measures, inorder topromote sustainable development [and] tomake appropriate
recommendations onwhether anymodifications oftheprovisions ofthemultilateral trading system
arerequired, compatible withtheopen, equitable andnon-discriminatory nature ofthesystem".
Algeria isalsoasignatory oftheBasel Convention onthecontrol oftransboundary movements
ofhazardous wastes andoftheLondon Guidelines fortheexchange ofinformation onchemicals in
international trade.
(i) Mixing regulations
Asacomplement tothelegislation mentioned under point (h)above, mixing regulations are
governed byExecutive Decree No.92-42 of4February 1992onpriorauthorizations forthemanufacture
oftoxic orparticularly hazardous products.
(j) Government-mandated counter-trade andbarter
- Barter
AnInterministerial Order of14December 1994 laysdown therules forbarter transactions
ontheborders withNiger andMali.
Thistypeoftradeisofanexceptional nature andisdesigned exclusively tofacilitate thesupply
ofgoods tothepopulations resident inthewilayat ofsouthern Algeria (Adrar, IlliziandTamanrasset).
Thegoods imported inthiswaymaynotbemarketed outside theterritorial limits oftheabove-mentioned
wilayat.
There isanestablished listofgoods authorized forfrontier barter trade. Itcovers necessaries
included intheconsumption habits ofthelocalpopulations. Thistraditional typeoftrade hasbeen
maintained inorder toensure thestability andcontinuity ofthecenturies-old links between the
populations oftheregion, thereby guaranteeing thattheyareregularly supplied withessential products.
Theverymodest level ofsuchborder trade (US$1 to1.5million) represents anegligible
proportion ofAlgeria 'sforeign trade.
- Product exchange ortechnical exchange transactions
Such transactions mayrelate togoods orservices notsubject toanyparticular prohibition,
suspension orrestriction asregards bothimports andexports.
Commercial transactions ofthiskindarecarried outbyfirms withaviewtoacquiring imported
products inexchange forexports.
Under thisprocedure, onlythefollowing products areauthorized forimport: equipment, raw
materials, semi-finished products, spare parts andtools.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Thefollowing products maynotbeexported under thisprocedure: "Deglet Nour" dates,
petrochemical andsteelproducts, fertilizers, ironoreandwine.
Allproduct exchange andtechnical exchange transactions aresubject tobankdomiciliation,
inthesame wayasroutine imports andexports.
(k) Trade agreements leading tocountry-specific quota allocation
Algeria hasconcluded noagreements ofthiskindwithitspartners.
(l) Government procurement practices
Procurement legislation hasdeveloped inthelightofthecountry 'ssocio-economic situation
reflecting ashiftfrom centralized tomore liberal management.
Procurement covers thefullrange ofcontracts forpublic works, supplies andservices concluded
bytheStateandbypublic institutions andestablishments ofanadministrative nature, excluding contracts
governed byspecific legislation, suchasinsurance contracts andcontracts forthesupply ofelectricity
andgas.
Public contracts aresubject toaspecific system ofaward andsupervision, aimed atensuring
rational, efficient andtransparent useofthepublic funds earmarked tofinance them.
Themainfeatures ofthissystem, which hasundergone several stages since1962, arecurrently
embodied inDecree No.91-434 of9November 1991 ontheregulation ofgovernment procurement.
TheDecree laysdown theprocedures tobefollowed fortheaward ofpublic contracts aswell
astherulesformonitoring them. Italsospecifies theclauses tobeinserted incontracts, andinsome
cases theircontent.
(i) Award procedures
Public contracts areconcluded onthebasis ofthefollowing range ofmethods:
- single tendering, subdivided into:
* simple direct agreement,
* mutual agreement afterconsultation;
- invitations totender, subdivided into:
* openinvitations totender,
* selective invitations totender;
- selective consultation following pre-selection;
- adjudication;
- competition.
Thechoice ofthemethod ofawarding government contracts depends onefficiency criteria
andistheresponsibility ofthecontracting service. However, thischoice hastobejustified inthe
context ofregulatory controls.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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(ii) Methods ofcontrol
Government procurement issubject todifferent types ofcontrol covering theentire contractual
process. Controls arecarried outbytheinternal organs ofthecontracting service, thesupervisory
administration, theprocurement commissions attached toeachcontracting service andtheNational
Procurement Commission.
Theprocurement commissions carry outanapriori control before performance ofanycontract
canbegin.
Depending ontheirnature andtheamount involved, contracts come within thepurview ofeither
theNational Procurement Commission ortheprocurement commissions ofthecontracting service.
Procurement involving anamount ofnotmore thanDA3million isnotsubject topriorcontrol
andmaytaketheform ofdirect orders bytheadministration.
(m) Regulation oftrade intransit
Thecustoms transit regime issetoutintheCustoms Code (Article 125etseq.).In1988,
Algeria accepted annex E1oncustoms transit oftheKyoto Convention, adopted under theauspices
oftheCustoms Cooperation Council (CCC).
Theapplication ofthecustoms tariff andtheforeign trade regulations issuspended forthe
duration ofthetransit operation. Persons applying forthistypeoftreatment mustsignatransit bond,
undertaking todeliver thedeclared goods toaspecific customs office, under seal,within thespecified
time-limit.
4. Policies affecting trade inagricultural products
Thepolicy applied intheagricultural sector isintended toincrease agricultural output andensure
fulfilment oftheoverall aimoffoodsecurity.
Implementation isgeared torequirements ofcompetition andeconomic efficiency.
Thepolicy ispursued along several linesofapproach, namely: liberalization offoreign trade,
pricing policy, review ofthesystem ofincentives, budgetary measures, organization offarming,
administrative adjustment andrestructuring ofpublic enterprises inthesector.
Theadjustments already made have been designed toencourage farmers totakeonmore
responsibilities, onthebasisofparticipatory practices, whereby theStatewithdraws fromitsprevious
involvement inthemanagement ofeconomic andcommercial activities.
Forexample, alltheparties concerned mayengage inforeign traderegardless ofstatus, subject
tocompliance withthegeneral regulations applicable toexports andimports.
Allimport restrictions havebeenlifted.
Thesupply ofagricultural inputs, which wasformany years thepreserve ofpublic enterprises
under monopolies granted bytheState, hasalsobeenfreed ofallrestrictions, andthishasfostered
theemergence ofawiderange ofprivate companies specializing inthisfield.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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(a) Imports
Theestimated overall annual billforimports ofagro-products andthefactors andmeans of
agricultural production in1995 amounted tonearly US$3 billion.
Thesizeofthisfoodbillandanyslippage likely intheyears ahead, given therateofpopulation
growth andtheriskofupward fluctuations intheinternational prices ofthevarious products, is
prompting thepossibility ofcontrolling imports byintroducing aquota system foralimited period.
Thelistofimported agricultural products andfoodstuffs, withaheavy predominance ofcereals
anddairy products, comprises 429products under theHarmonized System (HS)classification, with
aweighted average levelofprotection of8.4percent.
Finished agricultural products andfoodstuffs aresubject toamaximum customs dutyof
50percent.
These tariff measures aresupplemented bytechnical andcontrol regulations forthepurpose
ofphytosanitary andsanitary protection.
(b) Exports
Theagricultural trade balance shows asubstantial deficit. Thepercentage ratioofexports to
imports isonly0.4percent, andhence theneedtogivenewimpetus tothissector.
Noscheme ofexport subsidies isapplied atthepresent time.
(c) Export prohibitions andrestrictions
Apart from datepalm seedlings andbreeding sheep, noother exports aresubject toany
prohibition orrestriction.
(d) Export credits, credit guarantees andinsurance
Nospecific system ofcredits, credit guarantees orinsurance isapplied toagricultural exports.
(e) Internal agricultural policies
These arebased onpricing systems, budgetary measures, investment grants andtaxation.
(i) Pricing policy
Since 1994, theprices ofallthefactors andmeans ofagricultural production havebeenfreely
determined bymarket forces.
Thesame istrueofproducer prices, except inthecaseofwheat, which isstillsubject to
guaranteed minimum prices owing totheparticular characteristics ofcultivated areasfromthestandpoint
ofnatural andsocio-economic conditions.
(ii) Budgetary measures, development grants andtaxation
Budgetary adjustments haveinvolved areview ofprevious policies inrelation toinvestment
andincentives toenhanced productivity.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Forexample, theStatebears exclusive responsibility forinvestments inclearly identified areas
ofactivity involving apublic andstrategic interest, namely:
- Vocational training;
- research andextension services;
- protection ofassets, particularly through reafforestation;
- mobilization ofwater resources forirrigation purposes;
- hydro-agricultural schemes;
- fishery portinfrastructure;
- strategic storage infrastructure;
- protection anddevelopment ofgenetic resources (plant andlivestock);
- electrification;
- opening upbackward regions.
With regard toinvestment byproducers, theStatehassetupasystem ofincentives which is
managed incooperation withfarmers.
Thissystem enables producers toreceive various forms ofaid:
- Investment grants, ranging from30to50percentofthetotalamount oftheinvestment,
depending onthenature oftheactivities concerned. Theactivities currently eligible
forassistance under thisformofaidaredairy production, irrigation, fruitplantations
andcoldstorage plants.
- interest ratesubsidies ranging from 8percentforcropseason credits, to5or6per
centforinvestment credits.
Thisaidiscurrently channelled through special funds managed behind a"single window" in
theNational Agricultural Insurance Fund (CNMA), which wasrecently assigned thetaskofhandling
credit associations forfarmers. These forms ofassistance aredecided andacted onopenly andensure
maximum efficiency through participation byfarming circles.
Inaddition,promotersofagriculturalactivitiesmayreceivebenefitsunderthespecialInvestment
Code scheme.
(iii) Taxation
Theagricultural sector, which wastaxexempt foralongperiod oftime, today makes a
contribution, outofsolidarity, tobudgetary replenishment, although theleveloftaxation isstillmoderate
andcollection ratesremain low.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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TheAggregate Income Tax(IRG):
- Permanent exemption forincome earned from cereals anddried vegetables;
- exemption foraperiod offiveyears forincome earned frommountain farming, from
thedateofcommencement ofproduction. Theperiod ofexemption isincreased to
10years fordesert anddevelopment areas;
- exemptionforincomegeneratedbynon-industrialpoultryandrabbitproductionactivities
carried outonagricultural holdings.
Value-added tax(VAT)
- Investments indurum wheat andcommon wheat areexempt from VAT;
- areduced rate(7percent)isapplied tothefollowing products: corn, riceinthehusk,
grain sorghum, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers andagricultural
equipment.
Miscellaneous feesandtaxes
- Ausufruct feeispaidbyfarmers onagricultural landinthepublic domain, onthe
basis ofagricultural capacity anddepending onwhether ornotthelandisirrigated.
However, a50percentreduction isgranted where thelandisusedforcereals and
dried pulses. Thefeeisstructured asfollows:
Areas ofagricultural capacity Irrigated landper
hectare/yearDried crops perhectare/year
A DA7,500 DA1,250
B DA5,625 DA937
C DA2,982 DA497
D DA375 DA375
- A3percentlandtax,calculated byhectare andtypeofarea,ispayable onagricultural
land, based ontherental value oftheland. Thestructure ofthetaxisthesame as
thatindicated above fortheusufruct fee.
- Aslaughter feeofDA1/kg. islevied onfresh, chilled, frozen, salted andprocessed
meatofhorses, camels, goats, sheep andcattle. Itispaidintoaspecial fundforthe
protection ofanimal health.
Lastly, parafiscal taxes, forthebenefit oftheChambers ofAgriculture, havebeen
introduced onthefollowing products:
- Wine grapes: DA10/ql collected viathePublic Wine Marketing Office (ONCV);
- cereals anddried pulses: DA3/qlcollected viathePublic Cereals Office (OAIC);WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- cattle feed: DA10/ql collected viatheCereals andCattle Office.
5. Policies affecting foreign trade inother sectors
(a) Textiles regime
Nospecial regime isapplied tothetextiles sector inAlgeria.
(b) Policies affecting foreign trade inother major sectors
There arenopolicies affecting foreign trade inother major sectors oftheeconomy thathave
notbeendescribed under thevarious section headings ofthismemorandum.
V. TRADE-RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME
1. General
(a) Intellectual property policy
Intellectual property istaken tomean ownership ofcreative works directly linked toindustry
andtrade, aswellascopyright inliterary andartistic works.
Theterm"property" signifies thattherights derived from intellectual property maynotbe
usedwithout theconsent oftheholders orauthors.
Industrial property isconcerned withtheprotection inparticular ofinventions, marks, industrial
designs andappellations oforigin, andtherepression ofunfair competition.
Aninvention isanovel ideawhich makes itpossible, inpractice, toresolve aspecific problem
inthefieldoftechnology.
Apatent isadocument issued byagovernment office, which describes theinvention andcreates
alegalsituation inwhich thepatented invention maynormally onlybeexploited withtheauthorization
ofthepatentee.
Atrademark isasignwhich serves todistinguish theproducts ofanindustrial orcommercial
enterprise oragroup ofsuchenterprises, while service marks serve thesame purpose inrespect of
services.
Anindustrial design istheornamental aspect ofauseful article.
Anappellation oforigin isthegeographical name ofaparticular place, which serves todesignate
theproducts originating intheplace from which theyderive theiressential characteristics.
Copyright isconferred ontheauthor ofacreative work (literary andartistic works) irrespective
ofthegenre, themethod andform ofexpression, themerits orthedestination.
Therepression ofunfair competition isdirected against actsbyindustrial orcommercial
competitors thatarecontrary tohonest practices.
Immediately afterindependence, Algeria became aware oftheneedtoimplement apolicy for
theencouragement andprotection ofintellectual property.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Accordingly,theprovisionsoftheConstitutionrelatingtofundamentalrightsexplicitlyguarantees
freedom of"intellectual, artistic andscientific creation" aswellasfreedom of"private ownership".
Theelevation ofthese protected rights tothelevel offundamental rights recognized and
established bytheState Constitution reflects aconcern tohonour thecreative effort embodied inthe
products ofthemind andadesire tomake theauthors andrights holders feelmore secure, sothatthey
willcontinue tobendtheirenergies totheproduction ofintellectual, artistic andscientific works.
Moreover, withaviewtoensuring theacquisition andmastery offoreign technologies, while
atthesametimeenabling itsnationals tosecure theprotection oftheirrights inforeign countries, Algeria
hasratified themain international conventions inforce inthefieldofintellectual property.
Protection ofintellectual property isnot,however, anendinitself; itserves toencourage
creative activity, industrialization, investment andfairtrading.
(b) Agencies responsible forpolicy formulation andimplementation
Three national agencies currently administer intellectual property matters, eachinaccordance
withtheactivities assigned toitbylaw.
Theagencies concerned are:
- TheAlgerian Standardization andIndustrial Property Institute (INAPI), which deals
withtheprotection ofinventions;
- theNational Commercial Register Centre (CNRC), which deals withtrade orservice
marks, industrial designs andappellations oforigin; and
- theNational Copyright Office (ONDA), which deals withcopyright.
(i) TheINAPI exercises thefollowing functions:
- Receipt, examination, registration andissueofpatents forinventions, andpublication
thereof;
- implementation oftheprovisions relating toindustrial property andtheprotection of
industrial property, andindustrial rewards;
- receiptandregistrationofdocumentsaffectingtheownershipofrightsrelatingtopatents
forinvention, andupdating oftheregister ofinventions toreflect thevarious changes
affecting theholders ofsuchrights;
- keepingandmanagementofthenationalregisterofinventionsfromwhichanyinterested
person mayobtain information about protected inventions inAlgeria;
- conduct ofresearch onthestateoftheartinthefields ofinterest toinventors.
(ii) TheCNRC exercises thefollowing functions:
- Organization andmanagement ofstatutory protection forintellectual creations inthe
fieldofindustrial andcommercial property (marks, industrial designs andappellations
oforigin);WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- pooling ofallinformation onindustrial andcommercial property andthemanagement
ofthemachinery fortheprotection ofbusiness names andtrade names;
- listing intheindustrial property register ofdocuments entailing changes intransfers
ofthedifferent protected rights;
- production andpublication oftheOfficial Industrial Property Bulletin (BOPI), andof
anydocument and/or information relating toindustrial andcommercial property.
(ii) TheONDA exercises thefollowing functions:
- Protection oftherights ofproducers andtheirworks;
- receipt andregistration inAlgeria, onanexclusive basis, ofallcopyright declarations;
- action topromote theproduction ofcreative works;
- protection ofworks classified aspartofthenational cultural heritage.
Moreover, thethree above-mentioned agencies represent Algeria internationally, eachinthe
intellectual property areawithwhich itisconcerned.
(c) Membership ofinternational intellectual property conventions andofregional orbilateral
agreements
Attheinternational level, Algeria hasacceded tothefollowing conventions andagreements:
- TheParis Convention fortheProtection ofIndustrial Property, withratification of
themost recent Actthereto, namely theStockholm Act(1967);
- theConvention Establishing theWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO);
- theMadrid Agreement Concerning theInternational Registration ofMarks (Stockholm
Actof1967);
- theNiceAgreement Concerning theInternational Classification ofGoods andServices
forthePurposes oftheRegistration ofMarks (Stockholm Actof1967);
- theMadrid Agreement fortheRepression ofFalse orDeceptive Indications ofSource
onGoods (Lisbon Actof1963);
- theLisbon Agreement fortheProtection ofAppellations ofOrigin (Stockholm Act
of1967);
- theNairobi Treaty ontheProtection oftheOlympic Symbol (1981).
(d) Application ofnational andmost-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment toforeign nationals
Inorder tosecure therecognition ofrights inthefieldofintellectual property andtheattendant
safeguards, anynational orforeign individual orcorporation, infulfilling theformalities required by
Algerian legislation, mayobtain anofficial authorization issued bythecompetent government office.
Thiscanberelied upon indealings withthecompetent courts, where necessary.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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However, non-resident nationals arerequired toappoint anagent domiciled inAlgeria.
(e) Feesandtaxes
Under Algerian taxlaw,thedefinition ofprofits derived fromanon-commercial professional
activity includes income fromcharges collected onthelicensing ofpatents orthelicensing orassignment
oftrade marks, processes, formulas orindustrial designs.
Thetaxtreatment ofsuchincome (known asfees)differs depending onthekindofrecipient
(natural orlegalpersons) andontheirplace ofresidence (resident ornon-resident inAlgeria).
However, theimposition offeesmayalsobeprovided forinthetextofadouble taxation
agreement concluded andratified withanother contracting State.
A. Taxtreatment offees-ordinary lawsystem
(i) Taxtreatment offeespaidtonatural persons
(a) Natural persons domiciled inAlgeria
Theincome derived fromtheabove-mentioned feespaidtonatural persons domiciled inAlgeria
issubject totheaggregate income tax(IRG) atarateof10percent(deducted atsource bytheperson
paying thefee)uptoanamount ofDA500,000.
Above thatamount, progressive rates areapplied, aslaiddown inthetable contained in
Article 104oftheCode ofDirect Taxes andEquivalent Charges.
(b) Natural persons domiciled abroad fortaxpurposes
Theincome paidtonatural persons domiciled abroad issubject toa20percentdeduction at
source.
(ii) Feespaidtolegalpersons
(a) Legal persons withregistered offices inAlgeria
Thesumscollected byenterprises withregistered offices inAlgeria inexchange forthegranting
oflicences fortheuseofpatents belonging tothem andthelicensing orassignment oftrade marks,
processes ormanufacturing formulas, arecounted aspartoftheprofits ofthecompany concerned.
Suchsums areconsequently subject, under therulesofordinary law,tothecompany profits
tax(IBS) attherateof38percent.
(b) Foreign companies withnopermanent baseinAlgeria
Theabove-mentioned sums paidtoforeign companies withnopermanent baseinAlgeria are
subject toan18percentdeduction atsource corresponding tothecompany profits tax(IBS).
B. Taxtreatment offeesunder taxagreements
Algeria hasconcluded double taxation agreements withanumber ofcountries. Inthose
agreements, feesaredefined asremuneration ofanykindpaidfortheuseorlicensed useofcopyrightWT/ACC/DZA/1
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orproperty rights relating toaliterary, artistic orscientific work, including cinematographic and
television films, patents, marks, plans, formulas orsecret processes.
Inrespect ofroyalties andfees,Algeria applies theprinciple oftaxsharing.
Under thisprinciple, thefeescharged -forwhich therateoftaxation ranges from 5to
15percent-areliable totax:
- IntheStateofresidence ofthebeneficiary andonthebasisoftheratesapplied under
thetaxlegislation ofthatState;
- inthecountry from which theyoriginate (i.e.Algeria), ataratedetermined bythe
contracting parties inanexpress provision ofthetaxagreement.
Thetaxratesvaryfrom 5percentto15percent.
C. Rules fordeduction atsource
Debtors (natural orlegal persons) whopaysums (fees) liable totaxarerequired under the
terms ofAlgerian taxlegislation, andprior topayment, tomake adeduction atsource corresponding
totheaggregate income tax(IRG) orthecompany profits tax(IBS), depending onthestatus ofthe
beneficiary (natural orlegalperson).
Iftheremuneration ispaidinaforeign currency, itisconverted intoAlgerian dinars atthe
exchange rateonthedateofpayment ofthefees.
Itshould alsobepointed outthat,under Algerian law,applications lodged withthecompetent
agencies (CNRC and/or INAPI) fortheregistration ofindustrial property rights aresubject tothe
payment ofparafiscal taxes, theratesofwhich aresetoutintheprovisions oftheFinance Act. The
ratesareavailable from theagencies concerned.
Theabove arethemainfeatures ofthetaxregime applied toincome derived fromintellectual
property rights.
2. Substantive standards ofprotection, including procedures fortheacquisition andmaintenance
ofintellectual property rights
(a) Copyright andrelated rights, including rights ofperformers, producers ofphonograms and
broadcasting organizations
Thenewlegislation oncopyright provides fortheprotection ofneighbouring rights, including
performers 'rights, therights ofproducers ofphonograms orvideograms, andtherights ofsound and
television broadcasting organizations.
Theeconomic rights oftheauthor areprotected during hislife,and25years afterhisdeath
forthebenefit ofhissuccessors intitle.
Upon theexpiration ofthisterm, thework fallswithin thepublic domain.
Algerian copyright legislation makes theONDA responsible fortheprotection ofthemoral
andmaterial interests oftheproducers ofintellectual works andtheirsuccessors intitle,andthemoralWT/ACC/DZA/1
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protection ofworks intheirperformance repertoire, bothinAlgeria andabroad, aswellasthecollection
anddistribution ofthefeesearned from suchperformance.
(b) Trade marks, including service marks
TheAlgerian legislation ontrade marks isalsoapplicable toservice marks.
Inorder toqualify forprotection, themark must befiledforregistration withtheNational
Commercial Register Centre (CNRC). Such registration confers ownership ofthemark onthefirst
applicant.
Toremain valid, theregistered mark must beusedwithin ayearfollowing registration.
Theowner ofamark maydemand thecancellation oftheregistration ofanother mark likely
tocreate confusion withhisown; suchanaction must beinstituted within five(5)years following
thefiling ofthemark.
Aregistered mark maybeobtained forseveral products orservices, inaccordance withthe
international classification.
Thetermofprotection ofthemark isten(10)years renewable.
Marks thathavebeenvalidly filedarethesubject ofregistration andpublication intheOfficial
Industrial Property Bulletin (BOPI).
Anational register covering allregistered marks enables anyinterested party tocheck the
availability ofmarks.
(c) Geographical indications, including appellations oforigin
- Toqualify forprotection, anappellation oforigin mustberegistered onthebasis of
aregulatory textconcerning itscreation.
- Registration confers ownership oftheappellation oforigin foratermof10years
renewable, andthefactofregistration ispublished intheOfficial Industrial Property
Bulletin.
(d) Industrial designs
Protection isafforded tooriginal andnewdesigns.
- Subject tofulfilment oftheformalities, protection maybegranted foraperiod of
10years, which isnotrenewable.
- Registrations attributing ownership ofindustrial designs arepublished intheOfficial
Industrial Property Bulletin.
- Protection bymeans ofapatent ofinvention maybeprovided forinventions which
arenew, which aretheresult ofinventive activity orwhich arecapable ofindustrial
application.
- Aninvention mayrelate toaproduct oraprocess.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Thefollowing arenotprotected:
- Plant varieties oranimal breeds, andtheprocesses forproducing them;
- strains ofmicro-organisms;
- foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics andchemicals, excluding theprocesses bywhich
theyareproduced.
- Theduration ofprotection ofapatent ofinvention is20years non-renewable, subject
tothefulfilment ofannual formalities formaintenance inforce.
- Patents issued forinventions arethesubject ofpublication inaregulatory enactment.
(e) Protection ofplant varieties
Under Algerian legislation, plantvarieties andtheprocesses forproducing themareexcluded
from patentability.
However,inthecontextofenvironmentalprotection,alistofnon-cultivatedplantspeciessubject
toprotection hasbeendrawn upbyregulatory enactment.
(f) Layout-designs ofintegrated circuits
Withthedevelopmentofcomputertechnologyasaneconomicactivityandameansoforganizing
theeconomic lifeofAlgeria, itwasonlynatural thatthescope ofthelawoncopyright should be
extended toinclude protection ofsoftware (computer programs andtechnical documentation describing
suchprograms andenabling them tobeunderstood orused).
(g) Requirements concerning undisclosed information, including trade secrets andtestdata
Thecriminal lawofAlgeria makes itapunishable offence foraworker tocommunicate or
attempt tocommunicate toforeigners orAlgerians resident inaforeign country information concerning
thesecrets oftheenterprise inwhich heworks, unless heisauthorized todoso.
(h) Anyother categories ofintellectual property
Thelawoncopyright specifically provides fortheprotection oftherighttoremuneration for
private copies ofworks produced inthehome, theprotection ofworks belonging tothetraditional
cultural heritage, therights ofperformers, therights ofproducers ofphonograms orvideograms, and
therights ofsound andtelevision broadcasting organizations.
Inaddition, thelawinquestion defines asabroadcasting act,subject toauthorization bythe
author, thetransmission ofsignals carrying programmes ofprotected works, andstored inthememory
ofasatellite, aslongassuchtransmission isintended forpublic reception.
3. Measures tocontrol abuse ofintellectual property rights
TheAlgerian legislation oninventions, marks, designs andappellations oforigin provides for
measures tocontrol abuse oftherights concerned.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page78
TheCNRC andINAPI provide advice andassistance inthecontext ofaninformation service
forthebenefit oftheparties concerned bytheexploitation ofindustrial property rights.
4. Enforcement
Intellectual property rights areguaranteed under judicial andadministrative procedures.
(a) Civil judicial procedures andremedies
Algerian law(Code ofCivil Procedure, Civil Code, Commercial Code, enactments relating
toindustrial property andcopyright andthose relating tocompetition) satisfies alltherequirements
oftheAgreement onTrade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights inthisrespect.
Inparticular, thefollowing principles areimplemented:
(i) Anynational orforeigner mayrefer totheAlgerian courts anyactbywhich heis
adversely affected; anyreferral ofamatter toacourt mustresult inthepronouncement
ofajudgement, evenifitisoneforremoval from theregister;
(ii) allproceedings taketheformofadversarial hearings (thus ensuring compliance with
theobligation toinform thedefendant oftheaction brought against himbytheplaintiff);
(iii) adherence totherules ofdiscovery isguaranteed;
(iv) inaccordance withtheprinciple ofdueprocess, every party toadispute isguaranteed
thepossibility ofbeing represented atlawbyalawyer ofhischoice;
(v) theparties beartheburden ofproof; inaddition, thejudge hastheauthority toorder
anyinvestigation, procedural steporexpert report exofficio ,withaviewtofacilitating
thesettlement ofthedispute placed before him. Theplaintiff hasthepossibility of
proving hiscase, justasthedefendant mayprovide proof ofthecontrary;
(vi) allcourt decisions arewritten andreasoned. They arenotified ortransmitted atthe
mere request oftheparties;
(vii) allordinary orspecial remedies areavailable toalltheparties. Thisisthecasefor
ordinary appeals, applications tovacate judgement, thirdpartyapplications, retractions
andappeals onpoints oflaw;
(viii) illegality proceedings maybebrought byanyone wishing tocontest administrative
decisions taken bytheState oritsorgans;
(ix) unlike other countries which haveaCouncil ofStateandadministrative courts, Algeria
hasestablished aunified courtsystem, theonlysplitbeing between ordinary contentious
proceedings (criminal, civil,commercial, social andpersonal status) andadministrative
proceedings dealtwithexclusively bytheadministrative divisions ofcourts andthose
oftheSupreme Court;
(x) thefollowing penalties maybeimposed: damages tocompensate fortheinjury
sustained, seizure, destruction ofgoods andconfiscation ofgoods.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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Moreover, under theCivil Code aright isconsidered tobeunreasonably exercised inthe
following cases:
- Ifthesolepurpose istoinjure other parties;
- iftheexercise oftherighttendstothesatisfaction ofaninterest ofnegligible importance
inrelation totheresulting injury toother parties;
- ifittends tothesatisfaction ofanunlawful interest.
Thelegislation oninventions provides fortheinvalidity ofclauses imposing obligations and
limitations notderived fromtherights conferred onthelicensee bythepatent ofinvention. Inaddition,
anyinterested partymayobtain acompulsory licence fromthecompetent courtonthegrounds offailure
towork orinsufficient working ofthepatent.
However,thenewlegislationoncompetitioncontainsspecificprovisionsauthorizingtheexercise
ofcompetition andprohibiting anti-competitive practices.
Asaresult, Algeria isinfullcompliance withtheprovisions oftheGeneral Agreement and
doesnotneedtoestablish anyseparate ornewjudicial system fortheenforcement ofintellectual property
rights.
Indeed, Algerian legislation guarantees theavailability ofjudicial remedies against anyaction
which might cause injury toanyparty.
Theabove-mentioned procedures serve toensure thatdisputes aresettled withduerespect for
therules oflawandequity, andonthebasis offairness andequality before thelaw.
(b) Provisional measures
Inurgentcases,theCodeofCivilProcedureandthespecificlawsrelatingtointellectualproperty
provide forreferral totheurgent applications court whose ruling takes theformofanorder andmay
evenbegiven onthesolebasisofanexparte application, withthepossibility ofimmediate enforcement,
evenbefore thedecision isregistered.
(c) Anyadministrative procedures andremedies
Intheevent ofcounterfeiting orpiracy, theowner ofthemark orthevictim ofpiracy may
apply tothecustoms service tosuspend theunloading ofthedisputed goods:
(i) Pending thesettlement ofthecriminal complaint;
(ii) pending anemergency interim ruling todealwiththesuspension ofcustoms clearance,
whichtakestheformofanadministrativedecisionrequiringreferraltotheadministrative
division oftheSupreme Court.
Allother administrative decisions relating totheacquisition, maintenance andrevocation of
rights aresubject tojudicial review onthegrounds ofillegality, asanautomatic remedy evenwhere
notprovided forbylaw,andonealsoapplicable toanyspecial border measures.
Consequently,AlgerianlegislationinthisfieldmeetstherequirementsoftheGeneralAgreement
inrespect ofintellectual property.WT/ACC/DZA/1
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(d) Anyspecial border measures
Theowner ofaregistered mark maysubmit anapplication tothecustoms administration,
explaining thatheistheowner oftheregistered mark andinviting theadministration tosuspend the
customs clearance ofgoods suspected ofbeing counterfeit oftrade mark goods.
Anowner ofcopyright maysubmit anapplication tothecustoms administration, explaining
thatheistheowner ofthecopyright andinviting theadministration tosuspend thecustoms clearance
ofgoods suspected ofbeing pirated.
Theabove-mentioned provisions maybeextended totheholders ofexclusive licences andof
related rights.
Anyapplication submitted onthese grounds should specify thelength oftimeforwhich the
customs administration should provide therequisite assistance.
Theperiod oftimeinquestion may, onrequest, befurther extended.
When theperiod ofvalidity ofthetrade mark orcopyright expires foranyreason, theowner
orholder isrequired toinform theabove-mentioned administration.
Thecustoms administration mayalsointervene exofficio onthebasisofdomestic statutes and
theinternational conventions onintellectual property rights.
Inthelatter case, thecustoms administration may, onitsowninitiative, suspend customs
clearance ofthegoods concerning which thereisapresumption ofinfringement orpotential infringement
ofanintellectual property right.
Ifneedbe,itmayrequest theholder oftheright toprovide freeofcharge anyinformation
andassistance, including theassistance oftechnical experts andothermeans needed todetermine whether
thesuspect goods arecounterfeit orpirated orwhether theyinfringe anintellectual property rightin
some other way.
Thecustoms authority shallpromptly inform theholder oftherightoftheplace anddateof
thesuspension ofcustoms clearance.
Inthisconnection, thecustoms administration actswithin aframework ofinternational
cooperation, onthebasis oftheexchange ofinformation anddatabases.
(e) Criminal procedures
Outofconcern toprotect intellectual property, theAlgerian legislature hasestablished asection
offivearticles intheCriminal Code forthepunishment ofinfringements. These criminal provisions
aresupplemented bythespecific lawsguaranteeing thesame rights asinthecivilandadministrative
fields.
5. Laws, decrees, regulations andother legalactsrelating totheabove
Thefollowing isthelistoflaws, decrees, regulations andother legalinstruments relating to
thevarious points mentioned above:
- TheConstitution (Articles 36and49);WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- Order No.66-48 of25February 1966 ontheaccession ofthePeople 'sDemocratic
Republic ofAlgeria totheParis Convention fortheProtection ofIndustrial Property,
of20March 1883, andOrder No.75-02 of9January 1975 onaccession tothe1967
Stockholm ActtothesaidConvention;
- Order No.66-57 of19March 1996 ontrade orservice marks;
- Order No.66-86 of28April 1966 ondesigns;
- Order No.73-14 of3April 1973 oncopyright;
- Order No.73-26 of5June1973 onAlgeria 'saccession totheUniversal Copyright
Convention of1952, revised atParis on24July1971;
- Order No.76-65 of16July1976 onappellations oforigin;
- LawNo.89-23 of19December 1989 onstandardization;
- LawNo.90-07 of3April 1990, asamended andsupplemented, oninformation;
- Decree No.90-132 of15May 1990 ontheorganization andfunctioning of
standardization procedures;
- Decree No.91-537 of25December 1991 onthenational system ofmeasurement;
- OrderNo.66-156of8June1966,asamendedandsupplemented,ontheCriminalCode;
- Order No.72-10 of22March 1972 onAlgeria 'saccession tocertain agreements;
- Order No.75-58 of26September 1975, asamended andsupplemented, ontheCivil
Code;
- Order No.75-59 of26September 1975, asamended andsupplemented, onthe
Commercial Code;
- LawNo.79-07 of21July1979, asamended andsupplemented, ontheCustoms Code;
- LawNo.85-05 of16February 1985, asamended andsupplemented, ontheprotection
andpromotion ofhealth;
- LawNo.89-02 of7February 1989 onthegeneral rules ofconsumer protection;
- LawNo.90-07 of3April 1990, asamended andsupplemented, oninformation;
- LawNo.90-22 of18August 1990, asamended andsupplemented, ontheCommercial
Register;
- Order No.95-06 of25January 1995 oncompetition;
- Legislative Decree No.93-17 of7December 1993 ontheprotection ofinventions;
- Legislative Decree No.93-12 of5October 1993 onthepromotion ofinvestment;WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- Executive Decree No.92-65 of12February 1992 onconformity controls onlocally
manufactured orimported products;
- Executive Decree No.93-286 of23November 1993 regulating phytosanitary border
controls;
- International conventions ratified byAlgeria (1973 Washington Convention onthe
Protection ofFauna andFlora, Ratification Decree No.82-492);
- Decree No.84-85 of21April 1984 onAlgeria 'saccession totheNairobi Treaty on
theProtection oftheOlympic Symbol.
6. Statistical data
(a) ListofStates withwhich Algeria hasconcluded double taxation agreements inrespect of
intellectual property
Contracting
StatesDateofsignature No.anddateoftheratification
decreeNo.ofthe
JORA* andyear
France 17May1982 No.83-575 of22October 1983 No.44/1983
Tunisia 9February 1985 No.85-161 of11June1985 No.25/1985
Libya 19June1988 No.89-180 of22September 1989 No.04/1989
Morocco 25January 1990 No.90-299 of13October 1990 No.44/1990
Arab Maghreb
Union 23July1990 No.90-124 of22December 1990 No.06/1991
Italy 3February 1991 No.91-231 of20July1991 No.35/1991
Turkey 2August 1994 No.94-305 of2October 1994 No.65/1994
*JORA: Journal Officiel delaRépublique Algérienne (Official Journal oftheAlgerian Republic).WT/ACC/DZA/1
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(b) Statistical dataonapplications forandgrants ofintellectual property rights, aswellasany
statistical dataontheirenforcement
Table ofProduct andService Marks Filed From 1966 to1994
Year Marks filed inAlgeria1Marks filed
internationally with
extension toAlgeria2Total
Ofnational
originOfforeign
origin3Subtotal
1966 - 15,215 15,215 - 15,215
1967 245 1,236 1,481 - 1,481
1968 207 913 1,120 - 1,120
1969 234 928 1,162 - 1,162
1970 323 839 1,162 - 1,162
1971 236 727 963 - 963
1972 77 1,543 1,620 3,764 5,384
1973 108 645 753 4,968 5,721
1974 122 797 919 4,542 5,461
1975 132 1,124 1,256 4,686 5,942
1976 124 2,504 2,628 4,133 6,761
1977 144 1,166 1,310 3,549 4,859
1978 99 792 891 3,012 3,903
1979 133 775 908 3,033 3,941
1980 313 648 961 3,221 4,182
1981 107 646 753 3,227 3,980
1982 160 1,134 1,294 3,352 4,646
1983 294 599 893 2,742 3,653
1984 174 678 852 2,922 3,774
1985 236 885 1,121 2,787 3,908
1986 543 1,544 2,087 3,028 5,115
1987 375 846 1,221 2,578 3,799
1988 290 668 958 2,887 3,845
1989 477 694 1,171 3,118 4,289
1990 461 619 1,080 3,226 4,306
1991 480 695 1,175 3,120 4,259
1992 460 1,101 1,561 3,685 5,246
1993 667 662 1,329 4,228 5,557
1994 518 733 1,251 3,956 5,207
Total 7,739 41,356 49,095 79,764 128,8594
Notes:
1National marks areprotected for10years andmayberenewed forperiods ofthesame duration.
2International marks areprotected for20years andmayalsoberenewed; theyareextended toAlgeria under theprovisions of
theMadrid Agreement Concerning theInternational Registration ofMarks.
3Marks offoreign origin areprotected under theterms oftheParis Convention fortheProtection ofIndustrial Property, towhich
Algeria hasbeenaparty since 1March 1966.
4Outofthetotalnumber ofmarks filed, 75,000 continue tobevalid(taking account ofexpiry dates, waivers andcancellations).WT/ACC/DZA/1
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VI. TRADE-RELATED SERVICES REGIME
1. General
Transport sector
Themaritime, airandrailtransport sectors areoperated exclusively byState-run public
enterprises. Draft legislative enactments arebeing prepared tolaydown theconditions under which
maritime andairtransport services maybeopened tocompetition. Railtransport, foritspart,will
havetobethesubject ofapublic service concession contract.
Theactivitiesrelatedtothesesectors,thoughunrestricted,arestilladefactomonopolycontrolled
bypublic corporations; theyinclude lighterage, handling, repair andmaintenance.
Fuelling, consignment andbrokerage aredemonopolized, regulated activities.
Themonopoly onthecarriage ofgoods andpassengers bylandwastotally eliminated byLaw
No.88-17 of10May1988, paving thewayforabroad measure ofinternal competition inthese areas
ofactivity.
Inaddition,Algeria'saccessiontotheTIRConventionin1989willcontributetothedevelopment
ofinternational roadhaulage.
Telecommunications
Postal andtelecommunication activities areoperated exclusively byState-run public institutions.
Thefollowing services are,however, open totheprivate sector, onthebasis ofspecific
regulations:
- Telecommunication services;
- carriage ofmail;
- telephone wiring.
Information
There isafreepress andnumerous publications, bothpublic andprivate, areunvalued.
Printing activities arealsounrestricted inlaw;however, theyremain under thedefactocontrol
ofseveral competing public enterprises.
Thesupplyofinformationbyradioandtelevisionisstillapublicmonopoly,althoughtheexercise
ofthisactivity isunrestricted, onthebasis ofspecifications laying down thetechnical conditions for
theuseoffrequencies tobroadcast radio andtelevision programmes.
Advertising
Theformer monopoly ofthePublic Advertising Agency (ANEP) hasbeenabolished. Private
agencies havethusentered themarket; inpractice, competition remains limited, mainly because most
ofthedemand foradvertising stillcomes from theState, organs oftheState andpublic enterprises.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page85
Tourism
Thissector hasalways beenopentoprivate initiative. However, public enterprises stillhave
substantial infrastructure.
Major hotels runbytheStateweresingled outforpriority privatization, beginning attheend
of1995. Eventually, itisplanned toprivatize alltourist activities.
Thepriority assigned toopening upthissector tonational andforeign private investment will
alsomake forstronger competition inthesector.
However, some tourist trades andactivities areregulated, asinthecaseoftourist andtravel
agencies, which require authorization bytheMinistry ofTourism, based onstanding andprofessional
competence. Permits alsohavetobeissued forholiday villages andcamping grounds.
Financial services
Banking
Therehavebeennorestrictionsontheestablishmentoffinancialinstitutionssince1990,pursuant
totheCurrency andCredit Act,andonthebasis oftheapproval oftheCurrency andCredit Board,
anadministrative organ oftheAlgerian Central Bank.
Theestablishment ofbranch offices offoreign financial institutions issubject totheprocedure
applicable toAlgerian financial institutions.
Insurance
Thissector wasliberalized quite recently, withthepromulgation ofOrder No.95-07 of
25January 1995 oninsurance.
Under thenewprovisions, insurance andreinsurance companies maybefreely established
andthisfreedom extends tobrokers andgeneral insurance agents.
Insurance andreinsurance companies must beapproved bytheMinister ofFinance.
Sincethemonopolywasabolishedonlyrecently,thesectorcontinuestobetheexclusivepreserve
offourlong-established public insurance companies: theCAAR, theSAA, theCAAT andtheCCR
(Central Reinsurance Company), andoftwoprivate mutual insurance societies: thefarmers 'mutual
benefit society andthemutual insurance society forworkers ineducation andculture.
Business services
Forthemost part,suchservices were fullyopentoprivate initiative andcompetition, even
before theliberalization ofproduction andservice activities in1988.
Withtheliberalization oftherental market, theonlyrestrictions onaccess toservice activities,
insome cases, derive from trade regulations designed toguarantee standards ofqualification or
professional competence.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page86
Wholesale distribution services
Thisareaofactivity hasbeenfully liberalized inlawsince 1988; however, afewpublic
enterprises continue todominate certain niche markets, onaccount oftheirsubstantial distribution
networks. Their ascendancy isexpected toevaporate withtherestructuring andprivatization processes
thatareunder way. Theentire distribution sector ismarked outforgradual privatization.
Environmental services
Sewage, sanitation andrefuse disposal services areforthemostpartthesubject ofpublic service
concessions granted bythelocalauthorities responsible forthem.
Thelocalauthorities aregradually reducing theirinvolvement inthese services, inthelight
interaliaofthelevelofcontrol exercised byprivate entrepreneurs overtheterms andconditions of
concessions, aswellastheircapabilities andpowers ofinitiative inthisfield.
However, theimpact ofthese services onpublic health frequently requires every possible
precaution ingranting concessions.
Educational services
TheAlgerian Constitution guarantees freeaccess toeducational services andprovides for
compulsory schooling atthebasic levels.
Forthetimebeing, State services areresponsible forproviding education atalllevels.
Atpresent, asingle window ofopportunity exists vis-à-vis theStateeducation system, namely
theestablishment ofprivate vocational training institutes, which isregulated bya1991 decree.
Health-related andsocial services
LawNo.85-05 of16February 1985authorizes theopening ofprivate hospitals under certain
conditions. Fewhaveasyetbeenestablished inresponse tothisopportunity, inviewofthesubstantial
resources required. Thissector continues, therefore, tobecontrolled mainly byGovernment funding.
Theother human health services haveseenamajor infusion ofprivate investment insurgeries,
medical laboratories, X-ray laboratories, dispensaries andthelike,andthishasopened thewayfor
genuine competition inthisfield.
Animal health services arealsofullyaccessible toprivate investment andinitiative.
Other social services
Thevarious social security services areentirely Statecontrolled. Other social services remain
completely dependent onprivate initiative, together withState incentives tothedevelopment ofthe
voluntary sector.
2. Policies affecting trade inservices
Generally speaking, asfarasthemainservices areconcerned, theregulations authorize service
activities under thefollowing conditions:WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- Onthebasis ofasimple declaration, following entry inthecommercial register;
- oraftercertain conditions have beenmetinrespect ofprofessional qualifications,
availability ofadequate equipment orsafety standards governing theactivity, under
thecontrol ofaState-run public institution;
- oragain, afterapproval orauthorization byaState-run public institution atcentral
government orregional level, orbyatradeorganization legally empowered toconduct
activities relating tothetrade.
Suchactivitiesareauthorizedonthebasisofstatutoryrequirementsorselectioncriteria,following
acompetition.
Public service concessions aregranted onthebasis ofcontract specifications, following
competitive bidding orpublic tendering.
(a) Generally speaking, services maybesupplied toenterprises without restriction, simply onthe
basisofanentry inthecommercial register, except inthecaseofatraderegulated forreasons ofpublic
order orsecurity.
Services involving recourse toaState-owned industry, public property orpublic lands are
provided through public service orpublic interest concessions, which havetobearranged withthe
State orthedecentralized localauthorities inaccordance withtheestablished legalrules.
Some public enterprises which manage assets inthepublic domain onbehalf oftheState are
authorized toestablish specifications fortheconcession ofservices.
Other services concerned withpublic health, education ortheenvironment, aswellasservices
forwhich charges maybesetbytheState, aresubject toauthorization orconcession.
Legally authorized trade associations arealsoentitled toengage incertain regulated trades.
(b) Administrative decisions concerning trade inservices aresubject totwotypes ofappeal:
- Anadministrative appeal totheauthority which tooktheadministrative decision or
toanycommission setupforthatpurpose;
- anapplication totheadministrative courts which haveastatutorily defined hierarchy.
Withregard tolisting inthecommercial register, which isnotstrictly speaking anadministrative
decision (since theofficials responsible forthecommercial register arepersons involved inthe
administration ofjustice), appeals maybemade totheordinary courts.
(c) Thenorms andregulations governing alltransactions, including licensing and/or registration,
areasarulecompatible withtheinternational agreements andconventions towhich Algeria hasacceded.
(d) Inthefields ofair,maritime andrailtransport, thenetwork concessions authorized bytheState
todatehavebeengranted exclusively tonational public enterprises.
Similarly, thewater, electricity andtelecommunication distribution services arecurrently the
subject ofexclusive concessions toState-owned companies, pending theintroduction ofarrangementsWT/ACC/DZA/1
Page88
making public service concessions available toallenterprises, inthecontext oflegislation currently
being framed.
(e) There arenosafeguard measures applicable totrade inservices inparticular.
(f) Theprovisions relating tointernational transfers andpayments forcurrent transactions inregard
tothesupply ofservices arethesame asthose governing current transactions inrespect ofgoods.
Asfarasenterprises areconcerned, theapplicable provisions aretheregulations laiddown
bytheBank ofAlgeria.
Asregards transactions involving services supplied byprivate individuals, intheabsence of
afullyconvertible national currency, transfers andpayments areeffected solely fortherequirements
ofhealth oreducation abroad, subject tocontrol thresholds.
(g) Capital transactions affecting services aregoverned bytheordinary lawrelating tocapital
transactions inrespect ofgoods (Currency andCredit ActandInvestment Act).
(h) There arenoparticular provisions concerning theprocurement ofservices bygovernment
agencies.
However, thedecree organizing government procurement gives general preference toresident
suppliers ofgoods orservices.
(i) Anumber oftaxincentives topromote investment areenshrined intheprovisions ofthe
Investment ActandtheFinance Acts.
Similarly, other taxexemptions orrebates aregranted under theFinance Acts, inthecontext
ofthepromotion ofexports ofgoods orservices.
Market access andnational treatment
(a) There arenolimitations onthenumber ofservice suppliers.
(b) There arenolimitations onthetotalvalue ofservice transactions orassets.
(c) There arenolimitations onthetotalnumber ofservice operations oronthetotalquantity of
service output.
(d) Under theexisting labour legislation, thenumber andprofessional qualifications ofnatural
persons aresubject toprior authorization, onastandard basis forallservice activities. Inthefield
ofgovernment procurement services, theprofessional requirements aremore restrictive, theaimbeing
toencourage theemployment ofqualified nationals.
However, these restrictive conditions donotapply toforeign investment.
(e) There arenorestrictions orrequirements concerning thespecific types oflegalentity through
which aservice maybesupplied inAlgeria.
(f) There arenolimitations ontheparticipation offoreign capital (pursuant tothe1993Investment
Act).WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page89
(g) There isnodiscrimination between national andforeign service suppliers, except under the
government procurement regulations, which asarulefavour resident enterprises inallcases other than
openinternational invitations totender, where projects aretobecovered byinternational funding.
VII. INSTITUTIONAL BASE FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH THIRD
COUNTRIES
Algeria hasconsistently accorded particular importance tostepping upanddiversifying itstrade
relations, anditpractises apolicy ofopenness tointernational cooperation, relying onseveral bilateral
andmultilateral agreements tofacilitate thedevelopment ofsuchcooperation.
1. Bilateral orplurilateral agreements relating toforeign trade ingoods andtrade inservices
(a) Bilateral trade agreements
Suchagreements havebeenconcluded withahundred orsocountries inAfrica, Latin America
andAsia. Their aimistoencourage merchandise tradeflows withsome developing countries, through
theperiodicalexchangeofindicativeschedulesofproductsavailableforexport,circulatedamongforeign
trade operators. These agreements giverisetothedefacto application ofthemost-favoured-nation
clause, buttheydonotinclude asystem ofpreferences.
(b) Trade andtariff conventions
Such conventions have been signed withLibya, Morocco, Mali, Syria, Senegal, Jordan,
Mauritania, Niger, Iraq, Egypt andTunisia. They aredesigned tostrengthen economic relations,
particularly withtheneighbouring countries. These conventions, which weredrawn upwellbefore
theliberalization ofAlgerian trade, inahighly regulated tradeenvironment overburdened withnumerous
non-tariff barriers, havenotthusfarbeenthesubject ofconcrete implementation.
2. Economic integration, customs union andfree-trade areaagreements
(a) Agreement withtheArab Maghreb Union (AMU)
On1April 1989, Algeria ratified theTreaty setting uptheArab Maghreb Union, theother
members being Libya, Mauritania, Morocco andTunisia.
Maghreb integration isscheduled totakeplace infoursuccessive stages, i.e.free-trade area,
customs union, common market, andlastly, economic union.
Atthetrade level, twoconventions havebeenconcluded:
(i) TheTrade andTariff Convention, ratified byAlgeria on21April 1992, which provides
for:
- Total exemption from customs duties andcharges ofequivalent effect forall
products meeting Maghreb rules oforigin. Such products remain subject to
taxes onlocal production intheimporting country, including VAT orits
equivalent;
- aschedule ofproducts exempted from non-tariff barriers;WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page90
- theapplication ofacountervailing charge of17.5 percentonproducts
incorporating inputs offoreign origin, towhich aspecial customs regime has
beenapplied. Thisprovision isaimed atensuring faircompetition between
likeproducts oftheregion;
- theimplementation ofsafeguard measures, inaccordance withtheprovisions
oftheWTO Agreements, aswellasmechanisms tocompensate forlosses
incurred asaresult ofexemptions from customs charges.
TheConvention hasnotyetbeenimplemented, astheprocess ofratification bymember
States hasnotbeencompleted.
(ii) TheConvention onTrade inAgricultural Products, signed inJuly1990, which provides
for:
- Atotal exemption from duties andcharges ofequivalent effect forall
agricultural products ofMaghreb origin;
- aschedule ofproducts exempted from non-tariff barriers;
- theapplication ofsafeguard measures;
- theapplication ofacountervailing charge of17.5percentunder thesame
conditions asthose laiddown intheTrade andTariff Convention.
These twoconventions areofaninterim nature, pending theestablishment ofaMaghreb
free-trade area. Inthisconnection, adraftagreement iscurrently being considered bythemember
countries oftheAMU.
Theconvention hasnotyetcome intoforce, despite ratification byallthemember countries
oftheAMU, because notalltheprotocols ofimplementation havebeenfinalized.
3. Labour market integration agreements
Algeria hasconcluded noagreement ofthistypewithitspartners.
4. Multilateral economic cooperation, membership ofmultilateral economic organizations,
trade-related programmes ofother multilateral organizations
Algeria takes partinthework ofalltheinstitutions intheUnited Nations system, aswellas
theBretton Woods institutions.
Moreover, Algeria hasacceded tothefollowing multilateral agreements:
- TheNewYork Convention of10June1958 ontheRecognition andEnforcement of
Foreign Arbitral Awards (since 18July1988);
- theBelgrade Agreement of13April 1988ontheGlobal System ofTrade Preferences
(GSTP) among Developing Countries;
- theConvention ontheSettlement ofInvestment Disputes (ICSID) (since 17April 1995);WT/ACC/DZA/1
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- theMultilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) (since 17April 1995).
(a) Cooperation agreement withtheEuropean Economic Community
On26April 1976, Algeria concluded acooperation agreement withtheEuropean Economic
Community. Thepurpose oftheagreement istointroduce wide-ranging cooperation between Algeria
andtheEuropean Economic Community inthetechnical, financial, trade andsocial fields.
Intradematters,theEuropeanEconomicCommunityhasgrantedAlgeriathefollowingbenefits:
- Freemarket access, withnoquantitative restrictions andwithexemption fromcustoms
duties andcharges ofequivalent effect, forindustrial products;
- access forcertain products, subject toannual ceilings above which customs duties may
berestored;
- 20to100percentreduction ofcustoms duties oncertain agricultural products.
Subject toparticular provisions relating toborder trade, Algeria grants totheCommunity
treatment nolessfavourable thanmost-favoured-nation treatment, except inconnection withthe
establishment ofcustoms unions andfree-trade areas, orstepstaken withaviewtoMaghreb economic
integration oronbehalf ofdeveloping countries.
Moreover, Algeria ispreparing tonegotiate anewassociation agreement withtheEuropean
Union aimed attheestablishment ofafree-trade area.
(b) Treaty establishing theAfrican Economic Community, signed atAbuja (Nigeria) in1991
ThisTreaty ispartofascheme oflong-term regional integration andprovides forthefollowing
stages:
- Strengthening ofthesubregional economic communities (fiveyears);
- stabilizationofthetaxregimesappliedtotradewithineachregionalgroup,strengthening
ofsectoral integration, coordination andharmonization oftheactivities ofsubregional
economic groupings;
- establishment offree-trade areas within eachregional group;
- stabilization andharmonization oftariffandnon-tariff regimes between thesubregional
groupings;
- African Common Market;
- African Economic Community.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page92
ANNEX
Statistics andpublications
1. Foreign trade statistics andresponsible agencies
Thepreparation, management andpublication offoreign trade statistics aretheresponsibility
ofthefollowing national institutions:
- National Customs, oneofthemainsources ofinformation onforeign trade statistics.
Thecustoms administration hasanational informatics andstatistics centre.
Thecustoms administration hasitsheadoffice inAlgiers, atthefollowing address:
Direction Générale desdouanes
RueduDocteur Saadane -Alger -Algérie
Tel: (02)71.16.16
Telex: 56.300
Fax: (02)74.69.74
- TheNational Statistical Office (ONS), theimplementing agency fornational policy
onstatistics. Ithandles allstatistics onsocio-economic activity (population, health,
employment, agricultural andindustrial output andforeign trade).
TheONS hasitsregistered office inAlgiers, atthefollowing address:
Office national desstatistiques
8et10,ruedesMoussebiline (ex.desFontaines)
BPNo.202Ferhat Boussad -Alger -Algérie
Tel: (02)64.77.90. to92
Telex: 67.190
Fax: (02)63.81.10
- TheBankofAlgeria, which prepares andmanages statistics onthebalance ofpayments.
TheBank'saddress isthefollowing:
Banque d'Algerie
Villa Jolie, 38,avenue Franklin Roosevelt
Tel: (02)59.06.59
Telex: 66.499 and66.437
Fax: (02)73.96.79 and60.07.11
2. Publications related toforeign trade statistics
- Annual Bulletin ofForeign Trade Statistics, published bytheNational Customs.
- Annual Bulletin onForeign Trade Results, published bytheNational Statistical Office.
- Annual report bytheBank ofAlgeria onthebalance ofpayments.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page93
3. Statistical data
(a) Main economic indicators.
(b) Foreign trade statistics.MAIN INDICATORS OFTHE ALGERIAN ECONOMYWT/ACC/DZA/1
Page 94Table A
Country: Algeria
Surface area: 2,382 million km2
Currency: Dinar (DA)
Unit 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
I. REAL SIDE OFTHE ECONOMY
GDP DAbillion 295.00 301.70 326.20 350.10 422.40 536.70 799.70 1,045.10 1,161.80 1,471.00 1,974.80
US$billion 58.67 64.16 67.26 59.19 55.51 59.91 43.29 47.89 49.76 41.91 41.49
Final consumption DAbillion 161.60 183.80 195.50 219.50 274.00 394.00 522.50 708.50 839.60 1,098.70 1,175.70
Investment (change, including stocks) DAbillion 103.90 102.70 92.10 97.80 127.40 151.00 232.30 322.40 339.20 472.30 632.10
Gross savings DAbillion 94.70 71.80 83.70 73.00 85.60 142.70 277.30 353.90 335.10 298.30 589.70
Change involume ofGDP % 5.50 -0.30 -1.20 -1.80 4.40 -1.30 0.20 2.30 -1.70
Investment/GDP % 35.22 34.04 28.23 27.93 30.16 28.13 29.05 30.85 29.20 32.11 32.01
Gross savings/GDP % 32.10 23.80 25.66 20.85 20.27 26.59 34.68 33.86 28.84 20.28 29.86
II. PUBLIC FINANCE
Budgetary receipts DAbillion 108.59 92.38 92.26 93.45 116.41 160.20 272.40 316.80 320.10 434.20 600.85
Budgetary expenditure DAbillion 99.02 105.24 103.75 119.65 124.52 142.50 239.60 308.70 390.50 461.90 589.09
Balance onbudget DAbillion 9.57 -12.86 -10.79 -26.20 -8.11 17.70 32.80 8.10 -70.40 -27.70 11.76
Treasury balance excluding stabilization fund DAbillion -28.30 -35.10 23.10 -44.40 -8.40 20.20 36.10 11.50 -76.30 -33.70 8.64
Stabilization fund DAbillion 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 21.80 23.70 24.30 31.70 36.88
Overall Treasury balance DAbillion -28.30 -35.10 -23.10 -44.40 -8.40 20.20 14.30 -12.20 -100.60 -65.40 -28.24
Budgetary receipts/GDP % 36.81 30.62 28.50 26.69 27.56 29.85 34.0 30.30 27.60 29.30 30.43
Budgetary expenditure/GDP % 33.57 34.88 31.81 34.18 29.48 26.55 29.96 29.50 33.60 31.20 29.83
Budget balance/GDP % 3.24 -4.26 -3.31 -7.48 -1.92 3.30 4.10 0.8 -6.10 -1.90 0.60
Overall Treasury balance/GDP % -9.59 -11.63 -7.08 -12.68 -1.99 3.76 1.79 -1.20 -8.70 -4.40 -1.43Unit 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
III. BALANCE OFPAYMENTSWT/ACC/DZA/1
Page 95Exports ofgoods andservices US$billion 13.69 8.11 9.39 8.36 10.08 13.40 12.87 12.13 11.01 9.58 10.94
US$billion 12.78 11.78 9.28 9.74 11.07 -11.48 -9.64 -10.06 -9.60 -11.08 -12.2
Balance ofgoods andservices US$billion 0.81 -3.27 0.11 -1.38 -0.99 1.92 3.33 2.07 1.41 -1.50 -1.26
Capital income (net) US$billion -1.35 -1.43 -1.53 -2.01 -1.89 -2.09 -2.22 -2.16 -1.75 -1.72 -2.17
Current transfers (net) US$billion 1.36 1.80 1.49 1.51 1.73 1.53 1.29 1.39 1.14 1.40 1.12
Current account balance US$billion 0.82 -3.30 0.07 -1.88 -1.15 1.35 2.40 1.30 0.80 -1.82 -2.31
Capital balance US$billion 0.55 2.16 -0.05 1.10 0.49 -1.57 -1.89 -1.07 -0.81 2.54 -3.86
Overall balance US$billion 1.37 -1.14 0.01 -0.80 -0.66 -0.22 0.51 0.23 -0.01 -4.36 -6.17
Financing oftheoverall balance US$billion 0.22 -0.51 -0.23 0.01 4.36 6.17
Ofwhich:
Rescheduling US$billion 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.49 4.8
Change ingross reserves (-) US$billion 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.14 0.53
Imports ofgoods andservices/GDP % 21.78 18.36 13.80 16.46 19.94 -19.16 -22.04 -21.01 -19.29 -26.44 -29.41
Current account balance/GDP % 1.40 -5.14 0.10 -3.18 -2.07 2.25 5.54 2.71 1.61 -4.34 -5.57
Current rateofimports % 106.34 68.85 101.19 85.83 91.06 -116.72 -134.91 -120.58 -114.69 -86.46
Overall balance/GDP 2.34 -1.78 0.01 -1.35 1.19 -0.37 1.18 0.48 -0.02 -10.40 -14.87
IV. EXTERNAL DEBT
Total debt US$billion 17.31 21.72 25.85 25.83 26.81 26.00 27.27 22.00 24.71 29.34
Medium- andlong-term debt US$billion 16.61 20.72 24.53 24.21 24.35 26.46 26.44 25.42 24.01 28.71
Short-term debt US$billion 0.80 1.00 1.32 1.62 1.84 1.79 1.24 0.79 0.70 0.63
UseofIMFloans US$billion 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.62 0.67 0.91 0.71 0.43
Debt servicing US$billion 4.79 5.13 5.28 6.55 7.01 8.89 9.51 9.28 9.43 8.96
Debt servicing/exports, goods andservices % 35.25 63.26 56.23 78.35 69.54 66.34 73.89 76.50 85.65 93.53
Debt servicing/GDP % 8.16 8.00 7.85 11.07 12.63 14.84 21.97 19.38 18.95 21.38
Debt/exports ofgoods andservices % 127.38 267.82 275.24 308.98 265.96 194.00 215.00 181.37 224.45 306.26
Debt/GDP % 29.50 33.85 38.43 43.64 48.29 43.40 63.92 45.94 49.67 70.01Unit 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
V. INTERNATIONAL LIQUID ASSETSWT/ACC/DZA/1
Page 96
International liquid assets US$billion 2,340.86 1,700.84 1,714.44 918.32 859.76 723.94 1,485.32 1,456.76 1,475.00 2,874.00
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) US$billion 137.36 167.10 202.17 2.23 3.98 1.94 1.92 0.76 7.00 23.00
IMFreserve position US$billion 168.00 181.20 153.15 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Foreign exchange US$billion 2,534.99 1,352.54 1,359.12 916.09 855.78 722.00 1,484.00 1,456.00 3,468.90 2,540.00 2,110
Reserves inmonths ofimports Months 2.67 1.73 2.22 1.13 0.93 0.76 1.87 1.74 1.84 2.90 2.1
VI. MONETARY SITUATION
External assets (net) US$billion 14.89 9.32 9.15 9.28 6.52 6.5 24.3 22.6 23.9 60.40 26.3
Internal assets (net) 336.5 387.8 496.4 601.3 663.30 773.27
Internal claims US$billion 251.24 278.01 303.8 339.24 366.6 414 485.7 639.3 753.6 774.40 967.23
Claims ontheState US$billion 76.63 101.09 123.19 147.25 157.21 167 159.9 174.1 522.2 468.60 401.59
Claims ontheeconomy US$billion 174.61 176.92 180.61 191.99 209.39 247 325.8 465.2 231.4 305.80 565.64
Other headings (net) US$billion 10.86 17.41 5.04 -9.49 -8.33 -77.5 -97.9 -142.9 -152.3 -111.10 193.97
Ofwhich: Medium- andlong-term external
commitmentsUS$billion 23.07 33.32 39.7 53.79 60.48 -93.1 -157.8 -145.7 -113.7 -145.00 -120.88
Money supply (M2) US$billion 300.5 316.38 354.77 402.72 428.01 343 416.2 515.9 625.2 723.70 799.56
Money US$billion 202.23 204.82 223.91 252.21 250.01 270.1 325.9 369.7 443.2 476.00 519.11
Ofwhich: Money incirculation US$billion 76.64 89.36 96.87 109.75 119.87 134.9 157.2 184.9 211.3 223.00 249.77
Quasi-money US$billion 21.63 22.2 33.99 40.76 58.13 72.9 90.3 146.2 182 247.70 280.46
Liquidity ratio(average M2/GDP) % 101.87 104.87 108.76 115.03 101.33 61.2 48.1 48.1 52.2 49.20 40.49
Money incirculation/GDP % 25.98 29.62 29.69 31.35 28.38 23.9 18.5 17.6 18.1 15.16 12.65
Money incirculation/M2 % 25.5 28.24 27.3 27.25 28.01 39.4 37.8 35.8 33.8 30.81 31.24
Claims ontheeconomy % 58.11 55.92 50.91 47.67 48.92 41.5 36.3 44.51 19.92 20.79 28.64
VII. OTHER INDICATORS
Population Millions 21.75 22.19 22.83 23.48 24.08 24.7 25.32 25.94 26.58 27.20 27.79
Density/inhabitants perkm29.13 9.32 9.58 9.86 10.11 10.37 10.63 10.89 11.16 11.42 11.67
Economically active population Millions 4.49 4.71 5.34 5.56 5.53 5.85 6.07 6.28 6.45 6.82
Employed population Millions 3.88 3.95 4.2 4.38 4.58 4.66 4.82 4.9 5.03 5.16
Unemployment rate % 13.71 16.16 21.37 21.26 17.11 19.76 20.61 21.97 22.02 24.36Unit 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
Population growthWT/ACC/DZA/1
Page 972 2.88 2.84 2.56 2.59 2.5 2.44 2.46 2.33
Trend inconsumer prices
(City ofAlgiers) base100-1982 % 10.5 12.4 7.4 5.9 9.3 16.7 21.88 32.2 20.54 28.98 29.85
Average exchange rateDA/$ 5.03 4.7 4.85 5.92 7.61 8.96 18.47 21.82 23.35 35.10 47.6
Change % -6.48 3.15 21.96 28.64 17.93 106.22 18.13 7 50.32 35.61
Endofperiod DA/$ exchange rate 4.77 4.82 4.94 26.73 8.03 12.19 21.39 22.78 24.12 42.89 52.18
Change % 1.07 2.32 36.37 19.33 51.78 75.47 6.49 5.88 77.83 21.65
Average price ofoil-$/barrel 27.5 14.85 18.55 16.88 18.5 24.32 20.44 19.93 17.52 16.31 17.58
Change % -46 24.92 -9 9.6 31.46 -15.95 -2.5 -12.09 -6.91 7.79
Percapita GDP $ 2,697.17 2,891.71 2,846.3 2,521.1 2,305.46 2,425.33 1,709.66 1,846.3 1,872.1 1,541.05 1,492.67
Change % -2951 7.99 7.99 1.4 -17.69 -3.14Table B STATISTICS ONFOREIGN TRADE INGOODSWT/ACC/DZA/1
Page 98
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1995
(US$ millions)
I. TRADE BALANCE FROM 1984 TO1993
Exports f.o.b. 7,477 8,745 7,772 9,491 12,785 12,350 11,442 10,227
Imports c.i.f. 9,213 7,056 7,324 9,208 9,652 7,680 8,642 10,399
Trade balance 1,736 1,689 448 -283 3,133 4,670 2,800 -173
II. COMPOSITION OFEXPORTS f.o.b.
Hydrocarbons 7,279 8,531 7,352 9,096 12,348 11,975 10,979 9,769
Ofwhich:
-Crude oil 1,511 1,718 1,340 1,894 2,730 2,207 2,090 2,164
-Distillate 1,613 2,383 1,744 2,535 3,549 3,220 2,946 2,375
-Refined products 1,685 1,975 1,792 1,985 2,622 2,280 2,250 1,869
-Natural gas 782 852 831 884 1,015 1,343 1,253 587
-Liquefied natural gas 1,354 1,162 1,237 1,412 1,761 2,147 1,834 1,422
-Liquefied petroleum gas 334 442 407 386 671 778 606 1,352
Semi-finished products 120 108 179 173 210 169 233 263
Finished products 12 37 164 164 145 108 116 65
Foodstuffs 26 30 30 34 50 55 81 95.9
Other rawmaterials 40 38 47 24 32 43 33 33.6
Total exports f.o.b. 7,477 8,745 7,772 9,491 12,785 12,350 11,442 10,227
III. COMPOSITION OFIMPORTS c.i.f.
Food 1,848 1,749 1,804 2,904 2,133 1,938 2,150 2,699
Consumer goods 1,332 926 875 998 1,142 720 1,186 1,535
Intermediate goods 3,123 2,485 2,683 2,980 2,618 2,525 2,739 3,549
Capital goods 2,910 1,896 1,962 2,336 3,759 2,479 2,567 2,616
Total imports c.i.f. 9,213 7,056 7,324 9,208 9,652 7,680 8,642 10,399
Source: Algerian Customs.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page 991986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
(Percent)
IV. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OFIMPORTS c.i.f. FROM 1986 TO1995
Africa 2.24 2.54 2.13 2.58 2.13 3.25 3.42 2.8 3.2 2.2
Ofwhich: Maghreb countries 1.14 1.44 0.93 1.4 1.41 2.2 2.56 1.95 2.7 1.3
Asia 6.42 7.27 6.16 7.43 6.63 7.59 9.20 9.74 6 5.5
Ofwhich: Japan 4.55 3.89 4.33 3.76 4.64 4.9 4.44 4.38 2.6 3.3
EEC 63.18 54.72 57.74 54.32 60.72 60.22 63.2 58.28 55.9 60
Ofwhich: Germany 11.05 10.5 13.24 9.6 11.37 10.17 8.69 5.14 5.4 6.8
France 23.37 22.9 18.87 17.35 23.29 21.47 24.23 25.36 24.1 25
Italy 12.92 11.2 9.95 13.3 12.47 13.05 14.36 10.97 9.7 10
Spain 4.58 4.6 4.6 4 5.5 7.73 9.61 10.57 9.4 8.8
Other European countries 12.96 19 15.44 14.13 10.69 10.9 7.82 7.05 1.7 2.8
Latin America 4.09 5.1 3.7 3.8 2.83 3.6 2.15 1.9 2.3 3.2
United States 7.7 7 10.78 11.98 1.61 9.56 11.02 15.74 14.3 12.1
Other countries 3.41 4.39 4.05 5.76 5.39 4.88 3.21 4.49 16.6 14.2
Ofwhich: CIS(former USSR) 0.24 0.41 0.74 1.78 0.95 0.28 0.14 0.05 0.1 0.2
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
V. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OFEXPORTS f.o.b. FROM 1986 TO1995
Africa 0.64 1.71 2.39 1.94 2.61 1.96 2.21 1.9 2.9 2.4
Ofwhich: Maghreb countries 0.5 1.43 1.82 1.53 1.98 1.63 1.92 1.61 2.7 2.4
Asia 1.84 1.7 3.83 2.9 1.68 1.93 2.27 2.92 1.4 1.3
Ofwhich: Japan 1.28 1.46 5.53 1.39 0.96 0.75 0.71 0.47 0.9 0.7
EEC 73.4 64.8 68.44 67.85 67.19 69.19 71.33 68.98 69.6 65.3
Ofwhich: Germany 3.16 4.1 4.36 4.19 2.13 2.54 4.7 4.3 1 1.6
France 21.55 22.1 19.64 18.62 17.3 20.17 18.29 16.72 15.4 14.4
Italy 19.92 15.3 17.1 20.54 19.2 17.87 21.68 21.98 17.9 22
Spain 5.72 4.4 6.2 5.5 6 7.3 7.59 6.72 7.6 6
Other European countries 4.19 9.97 3.71 4.58 3.32 4.56 5.04 3.6 1.2 2.8
Latin America 1.79 1.87 0.59 0.53 2.1 2.55 3.49 2.32 2.7 2.7
United States 17,370 19.22 18.7 19.10 20.5 18.56 13.94 15.93 16.5 16.8
Other countries 0.05 0.73 2.34 3.1 2.6 1.21 1.72 1.44 5.8 7
Ofwhich: CIS(former USSR) 0.19 0.33 1.4 1.38 1.29 1.2 1.13 1.25 1.5 1.7
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page100
I. TRENDS ININDUSTRIAL OUTPUT FROM 1986 TO1995
(excluding hydrocarbons)
Year 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
Evolution 101.8 102.5 102.0 100 102.1 99.0 95.2 94.7 88.5 87.6
Source: National Statistical Office (ONS).
II. TRENDS INTHE MAIN BRANCHES OFINDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION FROM 1986 TO1995
Year 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
1.Mines andquarries (thousand tonnes)
Iron 3,400 3,400 3,100 2,748 2,959 2,350 2,563 2,311 2,014 2,237
Zinc 26 17 12 11.6 8 8 7.5 6.8 5.6 6
Lead 6 3 4 2.7 1.9 1.9 1.5 1.5 1.1 1.4
Mercury10.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3
Phosphate 1,200 1,200 1,350 1,254 1,128 1,090 1,173 718 714 757
Salt2191 233 232 229 225 207 197 175 169 148
Baryta 60 44 43 49.2 53.1 44.4 51.2 47.2 22.3 29.3
Bentonite 32 25 26 39 42 30 35 24 25 20
2.Steel-making andmetallurgy (thousand tonnes)
Pigiron 1,246 1,470 1,500 1,301 1,037 879 930 925 919 962
Crude steel 1,120 1,378 1,301 943 767 797 768 798 772 781
Concrete
reinforcing bars 238 269 243 170 150 153 134 129 190 177
Steel tubes, welded 270 236 156 120 121 94 106 131 170 101
Seamless tubes 20 14 24 18 22 14 21 23 24 30
Metallic
frameworks 143 163 49 41.3 37.3 37.4 43.5 30.5 30.4 23.2
Boiler works 8.2 9 6 7.4 8.4 8.3 11.1 7.8 6.3 8.6
Ironwork 2.3 2.7 2.5 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.7
3.Mechanical andmetal products (units)
Lorries, coaches,
buses 7,401 6,410 3,824 4,223 4,291 3,818 3,442 2,900 1,698 3,895
Tractors 6,323 3,513 3,404 2,965 3,505 3,203 3,009 4,632 3,385 2,712
Combine harvester-
threshers 1,162 280 661 314 567 510 530 291 176 46
Cranes andshovels 1,242 768 921 836 764 698 634 631 406 435
Vans andwagons 708 503 350 379 253 111 105 210 48 145
Cycles 53,000 46,000 46,000 45,800 39,000 16,000 19,454 17,500 30,500 15,000
Mopeds 48,000 44,000 34,000 35,600 21,000 13,000 9,000 12,681 6,900 9,000
Pumps forliquids 32,143 26,855 32,000 36,608 39,324 38,652 36,566 29,085 19,284 19,829
Machine tools 1,220 724 492 780 908 1,213 1,141 1,320
1In34.5kg.pots.
2Industrial anddomestic.
Source: Ministry ofIndustry andMines andONS.WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page101
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
4.Electrical andelectronic products
Electric wires and
cables (t.) 21,489 17,574 25,053 26,087 22,218 27,600 24,944 19,304 13,399 18,817
Telephone cables
(t.) 3,111 2,432 2,434 2,579 2,606 2,958 3,866 3,649 3,054 3,420
Accumulators
(10.3U) 562 656 637 585 587 548 566 546 501 456
Refrigerators
(10.3U) 104 225 382 369 387 388 317 183 119 131
Television sets
(10.3U) 382 318 322 211.7 283 176 218 258 166 194
5.Construction materials (thousand tonnes)
Cement 6,448 7,541 7,195 6,778 6,337 6,323 7,093 6,951 6,094 6,750
Bricks 1,594 1,701 1,710 1,633 1,644 1,617 1,776 1,691 1,548 1,488
Plaster 148 156 142 135 166 209 174 184 165 170
Tiles 70 60 58 40 35 31 31 29 31 20
Flatglass 9 10 29 27 30 19 14 6 0.2 0.1
Hollowed glass 40 34 34 29 28 37 25 25 29 24
Ceramic sanitary
ware (10.3 units) 1,044 1,044 1,200 1,051 873 853 1,092
Ceramic materials
andtiles(t.) 2,157 2,207 1,875 1,769 2,610 2,549 2,580 2,379 2,104 2,717
Safety glass (t.) 293 548 703 274 149 189 108
Windscreens
(10.3 units) 31 20 30 40 28 31 22
6.Chemical industries (thousand tonnes)
Nitrogenous
fertilizers 267 271 248 390 263 230 193 236 220 61
Phosphatic
fertilizers 257 278 239 170.8 173 155 154 204 179 80
Detergents 76 112 131 123 138 142 93 114 138 99
Paints and
varnishes 150 132 130 116 99 83 91 84 102 94
Methanol 64 90 97 91 93 81 95 84 80 98
Articles ofplastic
materials 83 62 58 68 53 34 45 33
Carbon dioxide 13 14 15 17.6 14 16 12.1 16.3 14.2 13
Acetylene
(thousands ofm3) 1,375 1,423 1,400 1,395 1,124 1,150 1,031 1,099 1,166 1,068
7.Agri-foodstuffs (thousand tonnes)
Flour andmeal 2,334 2,487 2,588 2,601 2,592 2,634 2,540 2,739 2,572 2,453
Refined edible oils 295 304 318 338 338 301 277 296 303 285
Refined sugar in
pellets 219 205 222 214 209 211 192 201 193 169
Pasta andcouscous 107 111 111 116.4 111.1 115.7 106.1 100.7 963 549
Preserved fruitand
vegetables 63 49 65 57.9 69.7 81 48.1 48.5 38.6 40
Manufactured
tobacco 28 26 25 25.2 28 26.1 23.7 24 23.5 24.2
Mineral water
(10.3 hl.) 1,259 1,216 1,054 970 873 657 830 741 662 429WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page102
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
8.Textiles andleather
Yarn, cotton, bonded
fibre, wool (103tonnes) 35 24 32 32 32 31 33.4 26.2 22 24
Finished fabrics
(106linear metres) 133 136 87 84 89 88 92 95 74 62
Blankets andtravelling
rugs(thousand units) 1,357 2,079 1,731 2,011 2,397 2,689 2,895 3,237 3,034 2,901
Shirts (thousand units) 3,078 2,736 1,774 1,682 1,868 2,028 1,518 1,331 1,265 1,040
Work clothing (thousand
units) 2,093 1,300 1,290 1,392 1,648 1,602 950 767 800 959
Cattle upper leather
(tonnes) 660 178 309 398 408 163 94 27 202 185
Upper leather
(thousand m2) 46,729 41,277 41,533 40,915 46,144 36,248 27,833 21,242 30,891 29,817
Footwear
(thousand pairs) 23,035 26,654 14,689 14,943 16,376 11,824 9,040 7,170 6,467 3,986
9.Wood, paper, miscellaneous (thousand tonnes)
Mass produced joinery
andcarpentry
(thousand m2) 2,169 1,239 1,214 1,820 2,154 1,337 1,056 1,443 1,115 1,016
Agglomerated cork
(thousand m3) 71 55 51 50 47 39 41 38 24 22
Paper, paper board and
packings (103t.) 153 135 138 124 117 101 96 106 98 89
Printing andwriting
paper (103t.) 28 21 21 26 29 28 24 32 33 33
Thinpaper (103t.) 11 9 11 11 12 12 10 6 2 2WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page103
III. TRENDS INSOME AREAS OFAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION FROM 1986 TO1995
Year 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
1.Livestock status (million head)
Goats 2,514 2,568 2,232 2,404 2,472 2,484 2,775 2,663 2,544 2,780
Cattle 1,346 1,416 1,435 1,405 1,393 1.3 1,334 1,314 1,269 1,267
Camelidae 121 134 114 122 122 126 114 114 114 126
Sheep 13,766 16,148 16,429 17,316 17,698 16,891 17,723 18,664 17,842 17,302
Horses (thousand) 79 84 85 86 81 82 77 73 - -
Other (thousand) 471 481 440 424 399 399 369 348 374 350
2.Trends inthemain livestock products (thousand tonnes)
Rawmilk(thousand
litres) 750 857 900 970 1,100 1,136 1,229 1,000 1,000 1,052
Redmeat 163 195 221 235 244 260 290 300 295 299
White meat 217 236 224 231 211 223 189 199 225 190
Eggs (million) 110 154 154 2,800 2,780 2,539 2,068 1,750 2,300 2,640
3.Trends intheproduction ofwood, cork andalfa
Constructional/
industrial (10.3m3) 50,803 48,620 49,718 36,940 95,559 239,200 144,919 193,893
Fuelwood (stacked
cubic metres) 61,487 40 62.4 62.4 123.6 - - 120 130
Wood charcoal
(quintals) 2,772 3,241 5,550 3,876 843 - - 2,800 3,500
Natural cork
(10.3 quintals) 197.5 138.4 127.3 91.2 92.9 128.5 111.4 26.8 32.5
Alfa(10.3 tonnes) 23.85 23.955 32.4 21.1 23.9 4 - 18 96 11.3
4.Production ofsaltwater orseafishbyspecies (10.3 tonnes)
Seasonal fish 71,661 71,565 62,123 60,033 78,030 65,338 65,868 65,603 65,736 66
White fish 21,605 14,896 19,778 9,930 9,922 10,375 8,656 13,165 12,731 11,699
Crustaceans 3,334 1,302 1,248 2,191 2,635 3,268 2,274 3,944 2,686 2,105
Dogfish andother
sharks and
swordfish (t.) 1,298 405 402 326 473 709 751 1,689 1,800 1,531
Total 1,395 492.76 485.1 398.15 563.6 787.98 827.8 1,771.7 1,881.2 1,610.8WT/ACC/DZA/1
Page104
IV. TRENDS INPLANT PRODUCTION FROM 1983 TO1993 TO1993
Year 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
(Thousand tonnes)
Cereals 2,404 2,065 1,035 2,001.6 1,625 3,807 3,328 1,452 963 2,138
Durum wheat 785 777 415 813 555 1,292 1,346 796 562 1,113
Common wheat 444 398 199 339 195 577 491 220 152 313
Barley 1,088 820 390 790 833 1,810 1,398 408 234 578
Other 92 70 30 61 42 128 93 28 15
Dried pulses 68 67 34 48 35 63 63 48 38 47
Broadbeans andfield
beans 41 33 15 23 16 32 30 20 19 22
Chickpeas 18 26 15 20 15 24 26 25 15 19
Other 9 8 4 4 4 7 7 3 4
Market garden
produce 2,341 2,567 2,421 2,765 2,261 2,937 3,067 2,964 2,571 3,200
Potatoes 812 905 899 1,001 809 1,077 1,158 1,065 716 1,100
Tomatoes 302 291 283 307 296 315 281 304 246 315
Melons and
watermelons 318 360 232 301 264 371 500 490 401 338
Onions 165 200 200 228 173 312 250 251 244 439
Carrots 142 135 136 153 101 117 128 128 117 169
Other 602 676 670 776 618 632 1,000 726 - -
Industrial crops 198 175 165 212 115 229 327 537 459 624
Tomatoes grown as
industrial crops 170 166 159 205 106 219 315 525 449 609
Tobacco 4 5 4 4 4 3 6 7 4 1
Other 24 32 4 5 4 6 5 5 6
1Theproduction ofalfafelltoalevel of4,000 tonnes in1991, mainly onaccount ofproblems withtheorganization of
gathering.
Source: ONS andMinistry ofAgriculture.
Year 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
(Thousand tonnes)
Fodder crops 1,273 1,207 807 1,115 519 1,338 1,110 736 800 1,000
Vetch -oats 1,120 575 366 638 244 679 663 800
Mown fallow land 199 147 99 61 145 98 100
Natural grassland 153 52 27 65 32 91 56 90
Other 381 267 313 182 423 400
Wine growing
Grape vines 92 112 123 119 81 146 169 146 89 100
Vines forwine1151 153 104 84 48 36.2 68 44 13 24
Citrus fruit 254 277 312 268 281 324 362 361 376 383
Oranges 167 183 208 177 184 222 252 250 253 258
Clementines 58 72 76 62 60 76 76 73 79 80
Mandarins 21 72 17 17 22 15 16 17 21 21
Other 8 10 11 12 15 11 21 23 24
Olives 201 168 143 92 178 88 266 206 170 132
Olives foroilmaking 192 153 130 82 165 74 185 151 130
Table olives 9 15 12 11 13 14 21 20 22
Dates 189 224 196 210 206 209 261 262 317 308
Figs 11 58 48 70 58 41 85 46 37
Fruit crops 204 189 241 172 251 258 315
1Inthousands ofhectolitres.
Source: ONS andMinistry ofAgriculture.