WT/TPR/S/8 Trade Policy Review
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II. TRADE POLICY REGIME: FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES
(1) General framework
1. UndertheMoroccanConstitution,theKingistheHeadofState.1HeappointsthePrimeMinister
whoisresponsible forforming theGovernment andcoordinating theactivities ofMinisters. TheKing
signs andratifies international treaties andpresides overthesupreme judicial authority. Executive
power isvested intheKing andtheGovernment. Thelatter'scomposition must reflect thatofthe
Chamber ofRepresentatives which holds thelegislative power andisresponsible, withtheKing, for
initiating anyrevision oftheConstitution (Article 97ofthe1992 Constitution). TheGovernment is
placed under theauthority oftheKing butisrequired tosubmit itsprogramme totheChamber for
avoteofconfidence.2
2. TheChamber ofRepresentatives has333members elected foratermofsixyears; twothirds
ofthemareelected bydirect universal suffrage, theothers byanelectoral college. Theonethirdelected
indirectly comprises 69towncouncillors, 32representatives oftradeorganizations, including chambers
ofcommerce inparticular, and10workers 'representatives. Depending ontheimportance ofquestions
placed before theChamber ofRepresentatives foravote, therequired majority varies between:
twothirds ofmembers forproposed constitutional revisions; anabsolute majority forcensure motions
andvotes ofnoconfidence; andamajority ofthevotes castformostlegislation andprivate member 's
bills. Morocco 'smost recent general elections were heldinSeptember 1993.
3. Allnewlegislation isinitiated bythePrime Minister ontheproposal oftheMinister responsible
forthequestion concerned ortheChamber ofRepresentatives. Billsareadopted bytheGovernment
Council andsubsequently bytheCouncil ofMinisters, before being submitted forconsideration to
theParliamentaryCommissionspecializingintheareaconcerned.3Afteradoptingabill,theCommission
submits ittotheplenary Chamber ofRepresentatives foravote. Laws mustbepromulgated within
30daysfollowing theirtransmission totheGovernment.
4. Since 1April 1994, decrees, including those relating tocustoms matters, havebeenissued
bythePrime Minister afterbeing countersigned bytheMinister ofFinance andtheother ministers
concerned. Decrees arethensubmitted totheGovernment Council andtheCouncil ofMinisters in
succession, before being approved bytheKing. They become enforceable oncetheyarepublished
intheOfficial Bulletin.
1ABECOR (1994), Crédit Lyonnais (1993), Europa Publications (1994). Thepresent Constitution ofthe
Kingdom ofMorocco wasadopted bynational referendum on4September 1992.
2TheChamber mayforce agovernment toresign byavoteofnoconfidence oramotion ofcensure.
3ThedifferencebetweentheGovernmentCouncilandtheCouncilofMinistersisthattheformermeetsregularly
under thechairmanship ofthePrime Minister, while thelatter ispresided overbytheKing.Kingdom ofMorocco WT/TPR/S/8
Page 15
5. TheSupreme Court iscomposed ofsixchambers. Thejudges areselected onthe
recommendation ofaSupreme Council presided overbytheKing. Allcourts havejurisdiction tohear
allcases, including those relating totrade. Atpresent, therefore, there arenocourts specializing in
commercial matters. Moreover, theordinary courts havejurisdiction totrycustoms offences.4
6. AConstitutional Council toreview thevalidity ofgeneral elections, referendums, basic laws
andrulesofprocedure oftheChamber ofRepresentatives wassetupunder the1992Constitution and
isalready atwork. Itiscomposed ofaPresident, fourmembers appointed bytheKingandfourothers
appointed bytheSpeaker oftheChamber ofRepresentatives. Itsmembers areasaruleappointed
foratermofsixyears; halfthemembers ofeachgroup willhavetheirterms ofoffice renewed every
threeyears. Asystem oflocalauthority councils, whose members areappointed, iscurrently inplace.5
Itisalsoplanned toestablish anEconomic andSocial Council.
(2) Procedure fortheformulation andimplementation oftrade policy
7. TheMinistry ofForeign Trade frames government policy inthisfield. According tothenature
ofthequestions considered, itcoordinates thispolicy withthevarious Ministries concerned (Ministries
ofFinance andForeign Investment; ofTrade, Industry andHandicrafts; ofAgriculture andAgricultural
Development; andofForeign Affairs, among others). Tariff changes arealways ratified inthe
Finance Actoftheyearfollowing thedecision. They aretherefore adopted retrospectively bythe
Chamber ofRepresentatives.
8. Before anyforeign trade billisprepared, private sector views areascertained through trade
associations. ANational Foreign Trade Council (CNCE), setupinJuly1993, iscomposed of
30representatives oftheadministration and36representatives ofthebusiness community. Itis
responsible forpreparing advisory opinions onforeign trade issues andputting forward suggestions
aimed atstrengthening thecompetitiveness ofMoroccan products andservices. TheCNCE draws
upanannual report ontrends inMoroccan foreign trade.
9. AConsultative Commission onImports (CCI) wasestablished in1993 andissues opinions
onallmatters relating toapplications fortarifforquota protection andrequests foremergency measures
bytheproducers, importers orusers ofagiven product. TheCommission ischaired bytheDirector
ofForeign Trade Policy intheMinistry ofForeign Trade andismade upofrepresentatives ofseveral
4TheKingdom ofMorocco hassixmain types ofcourt. Themunicipal anddistrict courts haveverylimited
jurisdiction, while thecourts offirstinstance aredivided intosections, depending onthenature ofthecases.
Theadministrative courts haveoriginal jurisdiction inproceedings toannul administrative decisions forillegality,
disputes relating toadministrative contracts andactions fordamages inrespect ofactsoractivities ofpublic
corporations. These courts arealsoempowered toheardisputes arising from theenforcement oflegislation and
regulations concerning electoral andfiscal matters, recovery ofTreasury debtandtheright ofexpropriation in
thepublic interest. Thecourts ofappeal arecourts ofsecond instance responsible forruling onappeals against
firstinstance decisions andorders issued bythepresidents ofadministrative courts. Theappeal courts alsohave
jurisdiction incriminal cases atfirstandlastinstance. Theessential function oftheSupreme Court istosupervise
theapplication ofthelawandensure uniform standards ofjudicial interpretation onthebasis ofappeals onpoints
oflawagainst last-instance decisions byanyoftheKingdom 'scourts. Finally, theCourt ofAudit isthehighest
authority responsible forsupervising theimplementation offinancial legislation andevaluating themanagement
ofagencies under itscontrol.
5Theprovincial orprefectorial assemblies arecomposed oftwocategories ofcouncillors whose numbers
arevariable. Representatives oftrade bodies havenumerical ascendancy overother councillors. Theassemblies
areempowered toresolve administrative andeconomic issues ofconcern totheirareas ofjurisdiction, following
deliberation.WT/TPR/S/8 Trade Policy Review
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Ministries, onerepresentative ofcustoms andexcise, onerepresentative ofeachofthetradeassociations
deemed most representative andonerepresentative from eachoftheFederations ofChambers of
Commerce andIndustry, Chambers ofAgriculture andtheFederation ofCraft Chambers.
10. Under thesupervision ofthePrime Minister, theMinistry ofFinance andForeign Investment,
theMinistry ofForeign Trade, theMinistry forthePromotion oftheEconomy andBank Al-Maghrib,
among others, produce anannual evaluation oftheMoroccan economy. Inaddition, thePlanning
Directorate oftheMinistry responsible forpopulation affairs iscurrently finalizing anoutline
macroeconomic evaluation ofpolicies implemented overthelastdecade, combined withananalysis
ofmedium-term growth scenarios. Workshops andseminars arefrequently organized forexchanges
ofviews between theadministration, certain academic bodies (institutes andresearch centres) and
associations ofeconomists specializing intrade matters.
(3) Trade policy objectives
11. Moroccoispursuingthepolicyofliberalizationinitiatedinthemid-1980s.Itexpectstheopening
andderegulation ofmarkets toreduce economic distortions, improve productivity andincrease flexibility
inresponse tomarket fluctuations. Action tocombat unemployment, amajor objective ofeconomic
policy, isbeing pursued through themodernization andrestructuring oftheeconomy.6Thevarious
laws onforeign trade currently inforce arebeing reviewed tobring them intolinewith the
WTO Agreements.
12. Itisthegovernment 'sintention toachieve complete convertibility ofthedirham, totransform
allquantitative traderestrictions intotariffs andtointroduce legislation relating toemergency measures
(Section IV.2(ix)). Agriculture willcontinue tobethesector withthehighest level ofprotection.
Goods notproduced ornotexpected tobeproduced byMorocco willrapidly become thesubject of
liberalization; customs duties willbesubstantially reduced. Owing tothefrequency ofdroughts over
thelastdecade, self-sufficiency infoodhasbecome along-term objective. Intheshort andmedium
term, thegovernment islooking toachieve foodsecurity.
13. Inthecontext ofexport promotion policy, thegovernment hassetitselfthegoalofencouraging
theprocessing ofrawmaterials inorder toincrease theshare ofsemi-finished andfinished products
inthecountry 'sexports. Morocco alsointends todiversify itsproduct baseandforeign markets.
Itisplanned tomodernize export firms andencourage partnerships. Thevarious tariffexemption and
concession schemes currently usedtoshelter these firms from thedirect costofimport restrictions
willbeoverhauled andcould bestrengthened.
14. Morocco intends topursue itsprivatization reforms. Thegradual reduction ofStateinvolvement
andtheopening upofmosteconomic activities toforeign participation areamong themeasures designed
toencourage technology transfers.
(4) Laws andregulations inthefieldoftrade
15. ThemaininstrumentgoverningMorocco'sforeigntradeisLawNo.13-89of9November1992.7
TheLawcomprises 20Articles divided among fourparts dealing interaliawiththeprotection of
domestic industry (Articles 2to14),measures toprotect domestic industry against unlawful trade
6StatementsbytheMoroccanauthoritiesattheGATTMinisterialConferenceinMarrakesh(12-15April1994).
7Prior toNovember 1992, adisparate array ofprovisions governed Morocco 'sforeign trade, some ofthem
dating back tothebeginning ofthelastcentury.Kingdom ofMorocco WT/TPR/S/8
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practices (Article 15),import procedures (Articles 16and17)andexport procedures (Articles 18and
19).Following Morocco 'sratification oftheWTO Agreements, abilltoamend LawNo.13-89 has
beenprepared. Having already beenapproved bytheMinisters concerned, thebillisintheprocess
ofenactment.
16. Table II.1gives alistofthemaintrade-related statutes inforceinMorocco. Anewcommercial
codewillshortly beapproved bytheChamber ofRepresentatives toreplace the1913Code currently
inforce.8Acompanies billhasbeendrafted andisintheprocess ofbeing enacted bytheChamber
ofRepresentatives. Abilloncompetition isinpreparation (Section IV.4(iii)(a)).
8ThisCode willrepeal theruleofmarital supervision under which thehusband 'sauthorization isrequired
fortheexercise ofcommercial activities byamarried woman. Itwillestablish ageneral requirement ofentry
inthecommercial register, even forpublic corporations engaged inindustry andtrade. Itwillmake payment
bycheque compulsory intransactions between traders involving sums ofDH5,000 ormore. Thedraft Code
extends thebankruptcy regime totheadministrators andmanagers ofpublic andprivate limited companies when
thebankruptcy iscaused byserious errors ofmanagement.WT/TPR/S/8 Trade Policy Review
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Table II.1
Trade legislation inMorocco
Field Legislative enactment Date ofentry intoforce
Customs procedures Customs andExcise Code 1977a
Customs tariffs Import dutyrates 1957b
Levies andcharges Finance Acts Annual
Foreign Trade Law 1992
Import andexport control Ministerial Order ("Arêté") 1994
Technical standards andregulations Dahir onindustrial standardization 1970
Decree onindustrial standardization 1970
Decree ontrademarks orcertificates of
conformity withMoroccan standards 1993
Order concerning thesaleofMoroccan
standards 1979
Government procurement Decree concerning government
procurement 1976
Rules oforigin Customs Code 1977
Bilateral orregional agreements
Emergency measures Foreign Trade Act 1992
Decree andOrder 1993 and1994
Export promotion 2dahirs, 1lawand2decrees on
incentives forindustrial andhandicraft
exporters1973, 1977 and1988
Finance Acts Annual
Export Code 13August 1973
Privatization Lawauthorizing transfer ofpublic
enterprises toprivate ownership and
implementing decree1990, 1995 and1990
Intellectual property Dahir relating toindustrial property 1916
Foreign investment Industrial Investment Code 17January 1983
Maritime Investment Code 5October 1984
Property Investment Code 17August 1985
Mining Investment Code 29December 1986
Tourism Investment Code 3June1983
Handicrafts Investment Code 13August 1973
Foreign Trade Commercial Code 1913
Enterprises Companies Act 1967
a Lastupdate: January 1995.
b Lastupdate: 1994.
Source: Government ofMorocco.
17. Moroccan lawisbased onthegeneral principle ofthesubordination ofdomestic lawto
international legalinstruments.
(5) Trade andcooperation agreements
(i) Multilateral agreements
18. Morocco acceded totheGATT inJune 1987. After hosting theMarrakesh Ministerial
Conference inApril 1994, itimmediately accepted theWTO Agreements, andthisenabled ittobecome
oneofthefounder Members oftheOrganization. Morocco hasentered intocommitments under all
theWTO Agreements resulting fromtheUruguay Round, except forthePlurilateral Agreements onKingdom ofMorocco WT/TPR/S/8
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Trade inCivil Aircraft andGovernment Procurement andtheInternational Dairy andBovine Meat
Agreements. TheMoroccan authorities haveconsistently expressed theirunwavering support foran
openmultilateral system andcompliance withitsrules. Morocco 'saccession toregional orbilateral
agreements isdictated notonlybyeconomic considerations butbytraditional political andcultural
linkswiththepartner countries; suchagreements areconsidered tocomplement those oftheWTO.
19. Morocco isaMember oftheUnited Nations anditsagencies. ItisalsoaMember ofthe
International Monetary Fund andtheWorld Bank.
(ii) Regional agreements
20. TheArab Maghreb Union (AMU), setupinFebruary 1989, groups together Algeria, Libya,
Morocco, Mauritania andTunisia. Twoconventions havebeensigned within theframework ofthis
Union. Thefirst,dating from1991, which hasnotyetcome intoeffect forwantofratification, grants
exemption fromcustoms duties andcharges ofequivalent effect forallproducts fromMember countries,
exempts anumber ofgoods fromnon-tariff barriers andprovides fortheapplication ofanoffsetting
taxof17.5percentonproducts benefiting from aspecial customs regime. Thesecond convention,
dating from1990, concerns onlytradeinagricultural products. Discussions arecurrently taking place
withaviewtotheestablishment ofafree-trade areaamong theMember countries oftheAMU.
21. Morocco isaMember oftheAfrican Development Bank, theIslamic Development Bank, the
Arab Fund forEconomic andSocial Development, theOrganization oftheIslamic Conference and
other institutions.
(iii) Bilateral agreements
(a) Relations withtheEuropean Union
22. TheEuropean Union (EU)isMorocco 'sprincipal trading partner. Trade relations wereinitially
governed byacooperation agreement signed in1976, which entered intoforce in1978. Under that
Agreement, Moroccan exports ofindustrial products aregranted freeaccess totheEUmarket aslong
astheyconform totheruleoforigin. Trousers aretheonlyproduct stillsubject tovoluntary restraint
(Section IV.3(iv)). Subject totheobservance ofatimetable andareference price, exports ofagricultural
products aregranted preferential treatment (seasonal tariff quotas). Based onthesame principles, an
additional protocol totheAgreement wasconcluded in1988 following theenlargement oftheUnion
toinclude Spain andPortugal. Thetwoparties areintheprocess ofnegotiating anassociation agreement
which willreplace the1976Agreement. Thecentrepiece ofthenewagreement would betheintroduction
ofafree-trade area. Pending theconclusion ofthisagreement, aprovisional arrangement hasbeen
approved concerning quota levels fortheyear1994-1995 (Section V.2(iii)(c)).
23. Afisheries agreement between Morocco andtheEUdefined theconditions ofaccess towaters
under Moroccan jurisdiction forships flying European flags, inconsideration ofafinancial package.
TheAgreement provided fortariff dismantling onasliding scale forMoroccan exports ofsardines.
Inthecontext ofdiscussions atthehalf-way stage, thetwoparties agreed toterminate thesecond
agreement inApril 1995. Negotiations fortheconclusion ofanewagreement areunder way.
24. Aframework agreement ontradeandinvestment between Morocco andtheUnited States was
signed on16March 1995. Itisdesigned tostrengthen bilateral cooperation inthefields oftrade,
taxation, intellectual property andinvestment.WT/TPR/S/8 Trade Policy Review
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(b) Agreements withArab andAfrican countries
25. Morocco 'stradewiththeMaghreb countries andsuchcountries asJordan, Iraq,Saudi Arabia,
Sudan, Egypt, Senegal andGuinea isgoverned bybilateral trade andtariff conventions. Thelatter
provide forexemption fromduties and,insome cases, fromcertain charges having equivalent effects.
Areview ofthese various agreements iscurrently inprogress (andhasbeencompleted inthecase
ofthose withJordan andEgypt), inorder tobring themintolinewithnewMoroccan andinternational
regulations andthoseinforceinthecountries concerned. Morocco doesnotgrantnon-tariff preferences
favouring particular partners insuchfields asgovernment procurement.
(iv) Other agreements andarrangements
26. Onanon-reciprocal basis, Morocco enjoys thebenefits oftheGeneralized System ofPreferences
(GSP) afforded byindustrialized countries, including Japan, theUnited States, Canada andSwitzerland.
Under thisarrangement, Moroccan exports oftheproducts concerned enter those countries duty-free
oratpreferential dutyrates.
27. Morocco wasoneofthefirstdeveloping countries tosigntheAgreement relating totheGlobal
System ofTrade Preferences (GSTP) inApril 1988. Itwillrecover itsstatus asparticipating member
(which itlostthrough failure toratify theAgreement within therequired time-limits) inJuly1992,
during thesecond round ofnegotiations. Morocco hasthusrejoined theGSTP onthebasisofitsinitial
1988 offer andiscurrently negotiating bilateral concessions withtheother GSTP partners. Sofar,
Morocco hasnotcarried outanycommercial operations within thatsystem.
28. Following itswithdrawal fromtheInternational Natural Rubber Agreement (INRO) in1994,
Morocco isnolonger aparty tointernational commodity agreements. Itis,however, amember of
theCommon Fund forCommodities, having ratified therelevant agreement in1987.