Morocco Faces Hurdles in Bid to Revise Free Trade Agreements, WTO Rules Complicate Exit

This clear desire of Morocco to break certain free trade agreements that "harm its economy" could run into a major difficulty. Indeed, the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which the kingdom has been a member since 1995, has not provided for any tools for withdrawing from a free trade agreement, notes La Vieéco.

However, two technical solutions are possible. The first: Morocco can challenge anti-competitive practices one by one and sector by sector. The second, it is to resort to the commercial defense department which will be responsible for presenting cases of dumping or massive imports to the WTO.

Another possible solution would be to ratify bilateral agreements in addition to the typical FTA formulation, analyzes the same source. This measure will not only prioritize the interests of both parties, but also compensate for the trade deficit generated by two-way productive investment solutions.

This is what Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Minister of Industry and Trade, intends to do. Already, a joint Morocco-Turkey commission has been set up to study trade flows between the two countries and consider complementary measures to rebalance the situation, it is specified.