Brussels, 14/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Morocco, which has for many years been on course for trade liberalisation, is today asking itself whether free trade, especially with the EU, is truly a worthwhile solution, states the “Centre Marocain de Conjoncture” (CMC) in a foreign trade analysis. In its last newsletter, in March this year, the CMC recalls the reforms undertaken to effectively apply agreements liberalising external trade. Although it notes “important progress” made, it also considers that a number of “failings” detract from these “positive aspects”. The CMC states that there is still much to be done especially in the fields of justice, regulation and administrative management.
As far as the EU is concerned, the main objectives of the association agreement, signed in 2000 to become fully applicable 12 years later, this March, have given fresh impetus to internal reforms, the CMC states. The CMC wonders, however, whether the agreement will make it possible to go beyond the underlying logic of assistance to realise conditions of partnership that are founded more on mutual rights and obligations. This must be seen in connection with the “unfortunate” rejection of the fisheries agreement and flouting of the intense links established under the association agreement. Sixty percent of imports and over 70% of exports from the Kingdom of Morocco are with the EU, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Morocco from the EU amounts to 70%, and the community settled in Europe is estimated at over 2 million individuals. The CMC also focuses its analysis on the Moroccan strategy for integration of the European internal market. After the “disappointment of the fisheries agreement”, the Morocco-EU partnership is facing the challenge of ongoing agricultural negotiations. On the political plane, considerable progress has been made in recent years with the establishment of a dialogue and consultation mechanism, while on the other hand the economic partnership seems to be making somewhat slow headway with contrasted situations depending on the sectors, the CMC states. (FB/transl.jl)