Morocco Tightens Restrictions on Turkish Products for 5 Years

The Moroccan government decided to impose more restrictions on Turkish products for a period of 5 years so that customs duties on textiles bearing Turkish seals increased by 90%.

Also, Rabat imposed strict restrictions on Turkish store chains working in Morocco.

The Moroccan authorities warned against closing the Turkish stores if those decisions were not adhered to.

On the other hand, sources with knowledge in Morocco said the government took those decisions against the products manufactured in Turkey to encourage the national industry.

Rabat’s decision comes at a time when Ankara is suffering from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s decision to ban the import of goods and products coming from Anatolia in Turkey, a decision supported by a number of major popular campaigns to boycott products made in Turkey, according to the online Saudi newspaper Sabq.

According to the Turkish "Ahwal" website, the decision of the Moroccan authorities dealt with raising the prices of customs duties on all products made in Turkey and said that textile products are the most prominent Turkish products facing new restrictions in Morocco.

According to the Moroccan decision, customs duties were raised for 1,200 Turkish products bearing the mark "Made in Turkey", while taxes on ready-made clothes were raised from 22.5% percent to 27 %.

Morocco aims to cover the $1.2 billion deficit resulting from trade. According to Moroccan media reports last week, where a decision was adopted to impose taxes on many products, on top of which are textiles, clothes, leather, cars, metals, wood, and electricity.

Annually, Turkey's textile sector caused 44 thousand people in Morocco to lose their jobs in 2017 Rabat encourages its citizens to buy local products to support the national industry.

The Moroccan Ministry of Trade also stipulated that the Turkish "BIM" chain of stores spread in Morocco, which depends on the sale of Turkey's products there, that half of the supply in all stores, affiliated to that chain, to be of Moroccan production, and warned that in the event of non-compliance, the 500 stores owned by it will be closed.