PRESS RELEASE: PRESS/TPRB/215

18 June 2003

TRADE POLICY REVIEW: MOROCCO

Further trade reforms would improve economic efficiency

The WTO report, along with the policy statement by the Government of Morocco, will serve as a basis for the third Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Morocco by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 16 and 18 June 2003.

A relatively diversified economy and sound macroeconomic policy have helped Morocco to contain the negative effects of recurrent droughts and have contributed to the stabilization of its currency, according to a report on the trade policies and practices of Morocco released June 18 by the WTO Secretariat.

The report notes that by expanding its multilateral commitments in the services sector, which account for 60 percent of real GDP, Morocco would reinforce the predictability of its trade regime, make its economy more attractive for foreign capital, and consolidate reforms in areas such as tourism and others in which the country has comparative advantages.

The report also says that liberalization of the agricultural sector and simplification of customs tariffs would improve economic efficiency and enhance Morocco’s adherence to the principles of the WTO. Such reforms could include the abolition of variable duties and the reduction of the number and levels of tariff rates. This would somewhat simplify Morocco’s trade regime, further complicated by membership of several overlapping trade agreements.

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The following documents are available in MS Word format.

Secretariat report

> Contents and summary observations (12 pages, 162KB)

> Economic environment (11 pages, 601KB)

> Trade and investment regimes (18 pages, 128KB)

> Trade policies and practices by measure (38 pages, 529KB)

> Trade policies and practices by sector (35 pages, 242KB)

> Appendix tables (25 pages, 319KB)

Government report (18 pages, 145KB)

Chairperson's concluding remarks

Minutes of the meeting are available approximately 6 weeks after the meeting.

Note back to top

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.

Print copies of previous TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop.

The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States.

Schedule of forthcoming reviews back to top

Indonesia: 27, 30 June 2003

Senegal/Niger: 28, 30 July 2003

Honduras: 22, 24 September 2003