Ceuta and Melilla’s Economy Stalls as Morocco Border Customs Remain Closed

Melilla already had a customs office at the Beni-Ensar border, but it was closed by Morocco on August 1, 2018, after more than six decades of operation. The closure of this customs post, seen as a means for Morocco to stifle Melilla, had considerable consequences on the economy of the autonomous city. The year before its closure, customs recorded 70% of commercial transactions for 40 million euros, explained Enrique Alcoba, president of the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Melilla (CEME-CEOE), to EFE.

With the closure of the border in March 2020, smuggling ceased in Melilla. Since then, the city has not maintained any commercial relationship with Rabat. The resumption of the goods traffic, announced in Rabat by President Pedro Sanchez, and reiterated this week in Congress, "is a fundamental and essential issue for the economy of the city", stressed Alcoba, specifying that several companies, hard hit by the crisis, had to close their doors or move to Almeria and Malaga to continue exporting to Morocco.

To read: Melilla Business Leaders Urge Reopening of Morocco Border Customs for Trade

For the president of CEME-CEOE, the start of customs should not pose major problems in Melilla, given that the infrastructure already existed. The delay in the start-up could be due to the creation of customs in Ceuta so that the two are activated at the same time. For Karim Bulaix, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Ceuta, customs is an opportunity for the future, as it will push several companies to want to settle in Ceuta, which will create jobs and wealth.

The Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Ceuta (CECE) recalls that this customs office would offer Moroccan citizens "the possibility of declaring their goods in accordance with international regulations and paying the corresponding customs duties". For her part, the Minister of Finance, Employment and Commerce of Melilla, Dunia Almansouri, stressed that the borders of Ceuta and Melilla need "healthy and commercial relations" and to resume "normal activity".