TRADE POLICY REVIEW

REPORT BY THE SECRETARIAT

Morocco

Revision

This report, prepared for the sixth Trade Policy Review of Morocco, has been drawn up by the WTO Secretariat on its own responsibility. The Secretariat has, as required by the Agreement establishing the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization), sought clarification from Morocco on its trade policies and practices.

Any technical questions arising from this report may be addressed to Arne Klau (+41 22 739 57 06), Ana Cristina Molina (+41 22 739 60 60), Carlos Pérez del Castillo (+41 22 739 53 36) or Marie‑Bel Martínez‑Hommel (+41 22 739 52 01).

Document _WT/TPR/G/453 contains the policy statement submitted by Morocco.

Note: This report was drafted in French.

CONTENTS

SUMMARY. 6

1   ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT. 9

1.1   Main features of the economy. 9

1.2   Recent economic developments. 9

1.3   Developments in trade and investment 12

1.3.1   Trends and patterns in merchandise and services trade. 12

1.3.2   Trends and patterns in FDI 15

2   TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES. 18

2.1   Overview. 18

2.2   Trade policy formulation and objectives. 18

2.3   Trade agreements and arrangements. 21

2.3.1   WTO. 21

2.3.2   Regional and preferential agreements. 22

2.3.3   Other agreements and arrangements. 24

2.4   Investment regime. 25

3   TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE. 31

3.1   Measures directly affecting imports. 31

3.1.1   Customs procedures, valuation and requirements. 31

3.1.2   Customs valuation. 34

3.1.3   Rules of origin. 35

3.1.4   Customs levies. 35

3.1.4.1   Applied most-favoured-nation (MFN) tariff 36

3.1.4.2   Tariff bindings. 41

3.1.4.3   Tariff preferences. 42

3.1.5   Other charges affecting imports. 43

3.1.5.1   Internal duties and taxes. 43

3.1.5.1.1   Value added tax (VAT) 43

3.1.5.1.2   Internal consumption tax (TIC) 44

3.1.5.1.3   Other internal taxes. 46

3.1.6   Import prohibitions, quantitative restrictions and licensing. 46

3.1.7   Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures. 48

3.1.7.1   Anti-dumping and countervailing measures. 48

3.1.7.2   Safeguard measures. 48

3.2   Measures directly affecting exports. 49

3.2.1   Customs procedures and requirements. 49

3.2.2   Export taxes. 50

3.2.3   Export prohibitions, licensing and control 50

3.2.4   Export support and promotion. 51

3.2.5   Industrial acceleration zones. 51

3.2.6   Customs regimes. 52

3.2.7   Export financing, insurance and guarantees. 53

3.2.7.1   Promotion. 54

3.3   Measures affecting production and trade. 54

3.3.1   Incentives. 54

3.3.2   Standards and other technical regulations. 56

3.3.2.1   Standards and technical requirements. 56

3.3.2.2   Sanitary and phytosanitary requirements. 57

3.3.3   State trading, state-owned enterprises and privatization. 61

3.3.4   Competition policy and price controls. 62

3.3.5   Government procurement 64

3.3.6   Intellectual property rights. 65

4   TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR. 67

4.1   Agriculture and fisheries. 67

4.1.1   Overview. 67

4.1.2   Agricultural policy. 69

4.1.3   Border measures. 71

4.1.4   Production and export support 74

4.1.5   Developments in selected subsectors. 76

4.1.5.1   Cereal crops and products thereof 76

4.1.5.2   Oilseed crops. 78

4.1.5.3   Sugar 78

4.1.5.4   Carbonated beverages, wine and cider 78

4.1.5.5   Livestock and livestock products. 79

4.2   Fisheries and aquaculture. 80

4.2.1   Overview of the market and the regulations. 80

4.2.2   Fishing by foreign enterprises. 84

4.2.2.1   Morocco‑EU fisheries agreement 84

4.2.2.2   Fisheries agreement with the Russian Federation. 84

4.2.2.3   Fisheries agreement with Japan. 84

4.3   Mining and Energy. 85

4.3.1   Mining. 85

4.3.2   Energy. 88

4.3.2.1   Electricity. 88

4.3.2.2   Hydrocarbons. 90

4.4   Manufacturing sector 92

4.5   Services. 96

4.5.1   Overview. 96

4.5.2   Financial services. 96

4.5.3   Telecommunications and postal services. 98

4.5.4   Transport 98

4.5.4.1   Air transport 99

4.5.4.2   Maritime transport 100

4.5.4.3   Rail transport 101

4.5.4.4   Road transport 101

4.5.5   Tourism.. 102

5   APPENDIX TABLES. 105

CHARTS

Chart 1.1 Trade in goods by HS section and main products, 2015 and 2022. 13

Chart 1.2 Trade in goods by trading partners, 2015 and 2022. 14

Chart 3.1 Breakdown of applied MFN tariff rates, 2015 and 2023. 39

Chart 4.1 Trade in agricultural products (WTO definition), 2015‑22. 74

Chart 4.2 Exports of phosphates and derivatives, 2015‑22. 86

Chart 4.3 MFN tariff averages by WTO non‑agricultural product group, 2015 and 2023. 95

TABLES

Table 1.1 Basic economic indicators, 2015‑23 (Q3) 10

Table 1.2 Balance of payments, 2015‑23 (Q3) 12

Table 1.3 Trade in services, 2015‑23 (Q2) 15

Table 1.4 Stocks of foreign investment in Morocco by activity sector, 2015‑21. 15

Table 1.5 Stocks of foreign direct investment in Morocco by origin, 2015‑21. 16

Table 1.6 Flows of foreign investment into Morocco by activity sector, 2015‑21. 16

Table 1.7 Stock of Moroccan investment abroad, by destination, 2015‑21. 16

Table 2.1 Trade-related laws and regulations published since 2016. 20

Table 2.2 Pending notifications, December 2023. 21

Table 2.3 RTAs in force. 22

Table 2.4 Law No. 03-22, main features. 25

Table 2.5 Bilateral investment agreement in force, December 2023. 28

Table 3.1 Operations under the RED subject to prior authorization. 32

Table 3.2 Revenue from duties and taxes levied on imports, 2016‑22. 36

Table 3.3 MFN tariff structure, 2015 and 2023. 37

Table 3.4 Brief analysis of the MFN tariff, 2023. 37

Table 3.5 Variable customs duties applied to sugar, 2023. 40

Table 3.6 Variable customs duties applied to cereals, 2023. 40

Table 3.7 Tariff lines for which the applied rate exceeds the bound rate, 2023. 41

Table 3.8 Preferential rates, 2023. 42

Table 3.9 TIC applied to manufactured tobacco, 2023. 44

Table 3.10 TIC applied to energy products and bitumen. 45

Table 3.11 TIC applied to sugar-containing products. 46

Table 3.12 TIC applied to cigarettes, 2022‑26. 46

Table 3.13 Products whose import is restricted, December 2023. 47

Table 3.14 Safeguard measures. 49

Table 3.15 Suspensive regimes, 2023. 52

Table 3.16 List of agricultural and veterinary inputs subject to prior import authorization, September 2023. 59

Table 3.17 Main companies with a state holding operating in 2023. 61

Table 3.18 WIPO-administered treaties, 2023. 65

Table 4.1 Main agri‑food products, 2015‑22. 67

Table 4.2 Main imports of agricultural goods, 2015‑22. 68

Table 4.3 Main exports of agricultural goods, 2015‑22. 69

Table 4.4 Range of MFN agricultural tariffs and share of tariffs above 30%, 2015 and 2023. 71

Table 4.5 Tariff quotas notified to the WTO, 2023. 72

Table 4.6 Overview of agricultural activities eligible for state financial aid, 2023. 74

Table 4.7 Average customs duties on imports of oil, 2015 and 2023. 78

Table 4.8 Average tariffs on imports of beverages, by main suppliers, 2015 and 2023. 79

Table 4.9 Fishery production and trade, 2016‑22. 81

Table 4.10 Tariffs on imported fishery products, 2015 and 2023. 82

Table 4.11 Manufacturing output by main sector of activity, 2015–20. 93

Table 4.12 Activity and profitability indicators for the banking sector, 2015‑23 (June) 97

Table 4.13 Tourism indicators in Morocco, 2015‑22. 102

BOXES

Box 2.1 International arbitration conventions. 29

Box 3.1 Processes under the RED for which prior authorization is no longer required. 32

Box 3.2 Main amendments to customs duty rates, 2024. 39

Box 3.3 Conditions for the import and marketing of seeds. 59

Box 4.1 Type of permit required to undertake mining activities, 2023. 87

APPENDIX TABLES

Table A1.1 Exports by HS section and main products, 2015-22. 105

Table A1.2 Imports by HS section and main products, 2015‑22. 107

Table A1.3 Exports by main trading partners, 2015-22. 109

Table A1.4 Imports by main trading partners, 2015-22. 110

Table A2.1 Other premiums. 111