Beni Mellal – The Moroccan Ministry of Trade has announced plans to introduce a significant anti-dumping duty on electric ovens imported from Türkiye. The move aims to protect the local market from what the ministry deems as unfair trade practices.
According to a ministry source, as reported by Reuters, the anti-dumping duty will amount to 62% for most Turkish oven manufacturers. However, the Turkish brand ITIMAT will be subject to a lower import duty of 34%. The ministry’s website states that the dumping margin of Turkish oven makers stood at up to 71.4%, while ITIMAT’s margin was 34%.
The decision to impose the anti-dumping duty comes despite the free trade agreement signed between Morocco and Türkiye in 2004. The agreement was amended in 2020 to allow for the introduction of import duties on certain Turkish goods following complaints from Moroccan textile manufacturers.
Dumping is the practice of introducing a product manufactured in one country into the market of another country at a price below its normal value. The normal value of a product is its price in the domestic market of the producing country or its cost of production.
This is not the first time Morocco has taken measures to protect its industries from Turkish imports. Under the government of Saad Eddine El Othmani, voices within the textile and clothing sector warned of the collapse of the industry in Morocco due to the dumping policy pursued by Turkish producers. In response, the then-Minister of Industry and Trade, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, threatened to tear up the free trade agreement with Türkiye.
The imposition of the anti-dumping duty on Turkish electric ovens is expected to provide relief to Moroccan manufacturers and help level the playing field in the domestic market.
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