Morocco Threatens Trade Retaliation Against Egypt Over Product Barriers

Speaking during a debate at the Productive Sectors Committee of the House of Representatives, the Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, said he had expressed his dissatisfaction to his Egyptian counterpart, Nevin Jameh, who also denounced the obstruction made by Morocco to Egyptian products.

The Moroccan minister said he had promised his counterpart retaliatory measures against Egyptian exports. "I created problems for you, and I will continue to do so," he reportedly told the minister, who also stressed during the debate that the Egyptian minister had nevertheless promised to review this policy for better access to the Egyptian market. According to Elalamy, she showed understanding, proposing the creation of a joint committee to resolve these problems.

In addition, the Moroccan minister indicated that Egyptian exports sometimes arrive in Morocco under a false identity. A check recently allowed, he notes, to discover that three containers from Egypt carrying products with Egyptian certificates were in fact Chinese-made products.

In the current context, Moroccan products take 3 months to access the Egyptian market, Elalamy recalled. Cars manufactured in Morocco can, for example, only access this market if they are manufactured at the "Somaca", while those from the Renault factories in Tangier are not welcome.