Tunisia has been a member of COMESA since July 2018. The agreement entered into force in 2019. Going forward, all activities in Tunisia should be conducted with COMESA competition laws in mind.
A delegation from the COMESA Competition Committee visited Tunisia on 25 and 26 October 2021 and a workshop was held between this delegation and representatives of the Tunisian Ministry of Commerce and members of the TCC. During this meeting, the delegation of the COMESA Competition Committee presented the highlights of the COMESA competition regulations and the Tunisian party presented the policy of Tunisia in the field of competition.
The two parties have discussed the ways and procedures of cooperation and have also talked about the setting of a draft memorandum of understanding between the TCC and the COMESA Competition Commission.
As far as local counsel are aware, no memorandum of understanding has been signed with any other jurisdiction.
Due to the fact that Tunisia has just joined COMESA and that a first meeting was recently held between the COMESA Competition Commission delegation and representatives of the Tunisian Ministry of Commerce and members of the TCC, it is not possible to identify the level of enforcement of the regional body. Please refer to the chapter relating to COMESA for additional information in relation to its regional enforcement activity.
Even though the COMESA treaty suggests that under certain conditions, the filing with the COMESA Competition Commission substitutes the merger filing domestically, local counsel do not have information confirming such an interpretation under the domestic competition law.