Economic experts call for the creation of “National Trade Office”

Numerous economic experts consider the latest decisions made by the government to curb the frenzy of prices as inappropriate and translate the absence of a clear economic vision as well as the incapacity of the authorities to make an end to the chaos that prevails in the regulate the Algerian market since years.

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• The expert Abderrehmane Mebtoul has indicated that the government’s move to freeze duties and taxes on basic food commodities until August 31, will impact negatively on the economic operators and the wholesalers, noting that the decision was rather political than economic.
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• He has further added that the success of this decision is bound to strong level of confidence between the government and the operators that will benefit from these measures.
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• In a declaration to Echourok, the expert has vehemently criticized the government’s decision to impose taxes on imported goods from the European zone and the adhesion of 1300 products from the Arab Free Exchange Zone, noting that this move has affected prices on account of the lack of competition.
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• The professor Mebtoul has called on the president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to reactivate the regulation committee whose activities were frozen in 1996 and put it under his personal guidance rather than the trade minister’s.
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• For his part, the economic expert Abderrehmane Toumi has indicated that the government’s decision will not guarantee the stability of the prices on the domestic market which are linked to the versatility of the international ones, noting that the right decision was to create a “National Trade Office” following the example of Malaysia, Morocco, Tunisia and many others.
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• This office, he added, will enable a direct intervention of the government to regulate the market through appropriate measures thorough, stocking and distribution and will definitely put an end to the hegemony of the private sector.
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• The expert has also noted that the government should expand the list of the current basic commodities (milk, pulses and cereals) to sugar, coffee, the, oil and tomatoes.
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• Professor Toumi has further added that the creation of this office is not forbidden by the World Trade Organization’s laws, thus will keep Algeria in a comfortable position which is struggling since the 1990s to join this organization.