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Rabat – After adding an amendment to its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Turkey in December 2021 Morocco will now officially impose new tariffs on Turkish goods entering its market.
The Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxes (ADII), the country’s customs authorities, published on Friday legal document “n°6328/222” relating to the entry into force of the Agreement amending the Morocco-Turkey FTA.
The customs duties on imports of Turkish goods are projected to reach 90% of the value of the products concerned, according to converging news reports.
The measure entered into force on May 2, 2022, and will remain effective over the period of the coming five years.
Morocco’s government had first passed the amendment to its FTA with Turkey on October 8, 2021.
The FTA with Turkey first came under widespread criticism in 2020, as experts warned that Turkish products are undermining the competitiveness of the country’s small retail stores.
Bim, a Turkish store chain, especially came under fire as experts and merchants went as far as to call its spread an invasion.
With over 500 stores in Morocco, Bim has its second-largest network of shops in the North African country after Turkey.
Amid the 2020 wave of criticism, Morocco’s Trade Minister Moulah Hafid Elalami said that his ministry would take a number of measures to protect local retailers.
The country’s trade deficit with Turkey was set at $1.2 billion, according to some estimates.
Morocco first signed the FTA with Turkey in 2004, but the agreement entered into force in 2006.
In 2009, the country first hinted at the possibility of leaving the FTA as it was not deemed beneficial to the local economy.
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