Cablegate: Global Import Regulations for Used Medical Equipment

VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #2763 3191615
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151615Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2219

UNCLAS TUNIS 002763

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

USDOC FOR 6132/MAS/MFG/OHCG/SFRANCIS
STATE FOR NEA/MAG (HARRIS) AND EB/CBA (WINSTEAD)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: BEXP EIND ETRD TS

SUBJECT: GLOBAL IMPORT REGULATIONS FOR USED MEDICAL EQUIPMENT

REF: USDOC 06212

1. Post submits the information below in response to reftel. The
Tunisian Ministry of Commerce has supplied updated information
concerning the import of used medical equipment into Tunisia.

2. Current regulations and practices are as follows:

A. There is no statutory prohibition on the import of used
equipment of any type, including medical equipment, but all such
imports are subject to an import license and strict technical
controls upon entry into the country.

B. This applies to both the private and public sectors, although
in practice the public sector does not import used equipment of any
type. However, private sector projects benefiting from the fiscal
and legal incentives granted by the government's investment
promotion agencies (API - Agence de Promotion de l'Industrie and
FIPA - Foreign Investment Promotion Agency) may be permitted to
import used equipment as part of a foreign investor's
contribution-in-kind to the capital of the project. This is dealt
with on a case-by-case basis.

3. As previously stated in the 2006 Global Import Regulations for
Used Medical Equipment Report, Tunisian restrictions are minimal but
importation of used equipment is difficult. There is a strong
preference for the guarantees and after-sales service that come with
new equipment. Local banks that finance private industrial products
normally require that purchased equipment be new. Given the
difficulty of assessing the true ease of entry for used equipment
and the general Tunisian preference for new items, however, the
Tunisian market is not well suited for used/refurbished U.S. medical
equipment exports.

GODEC

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