Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/116
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I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
(1) MAIN FEATURES OF THE ECONOMY
1. In 2002, Morocco had a population of almost 30 million, with an average annual  rate of
demographic growth of around 1.6 per cent (Table 1.1).  The urban population continues to increase,
from 53 per cent of the total population in 1996 to 56 per cent in 2001.  Morocco’s population is
concentrated mainly on the plains and coastal regions of the North-West, where the arable land is tobe found.  Almost all Morocco’s agricultural and industrial activity is in these regions.  The long
Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines are favourable to fishing.  Unemployment remains a major
concern;  almost 11 per cent of Morocco’s labour force is unemployed, and the figure is over 17.2 per
cent in urban areas.
Table I.1
Morocco in figures, 1995-2001
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Population (in '000) 26386 26848 27310 27775 28238 28705 29341
Crude birth rate (per '000) 23.9 23.6 23.2 22.8 22.4 21.9 21.5
Crude mortality rate (per '000) 6.6 6.5 6.3 6.2 6.1 5.9 ..
Overall growth rate (per '000) 17.3 17.1 16.9 16.6 16.3 16 ..
Life expectancy at birth .. 68.5 68.8 69.2 69.5 .. ..
  Men .. 66.8 67.1 67.3 67.5 .. ..
  Women .. 70.3 70.7 71.1 71.5 .. ..
Gross domestic product (current prices) - in DH billion 281.7 319.3 318.3 344.0 345.6 354.1 382.9
Gross domestic product (1980 prices) - in DH billion 113.2 127.0 124.2 133.7 133.6 134.9 143.6
Share of real GDP:
Agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing 11.6 18.3 13.8 16.4 13.7 11.5 13.8
Mining and energy 7.6 7.4 8.3 7.8 8.0 7.7 7.8
Manufacturing 18.9 17.4 18.4 17.4 17.9 18.3 18.0
Servicesa61.9 56.9 59.5 58.4 60.5 62.4 60.4
.. Not available.
a Including services provided by government authorities, public construction and public works.
Source: Ministry of Economic For ecasting and Planning, Statistical Department (2000);  Ministry of Ec onomic For ecasting
and Planning (2001, 2002a and 2002b).
2. Morocco is a middle-income country, with a per capita GDP of around US$1,245 in 2002.  It
has a relatively diversified economy.  Services (including those provided by Government authorities
and public construction and works) is the largest sector in terms of its contribution to the real GDP
(around 60 per cent);  trade plays a leading role.  Manufacturing is dominated by the chemical and
related industries, food, textiles, clothing, and leather goods, whose share of the GDP is around 18 per
cent;  agriculture (including livestock breeding, forestry and fishing) accounts for close to 14 per cent;mining and energy for around 8 per cent.
3. Transfers by Moroccans resident abroad constitute the main source of foreign exchange,
followed by tourism, and exports of clothing and mining products.  Manufacturing accounts for
almost two thirds of the value of exports of goods.  Agriculture is Morocco’s largest employer (44 per
cent of the labour force), and accounts for around 22 per cent of total exports of goods.WT/TPR/S/116 Trade Policy Review
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4. The growth rate in the textiles and clothing industry has been somewhat modest recently due,
inter alia , to keener competition on international markets for the goods concerned.  The leather
industry is facing problems in obtaining supplies of raw skins and hides due to the diseases and
epidemics that have affected livestock in some countries and led to increased demand from other
markets.
5. The recurrence of drought has had an impact on agricultural production, which was already
facing structural constraints such as the high proportion of small family farms, limited use of modern
production and storage techniques, high transport costs, and infrequent use of irrigation.1
Nevertheless, the fact that the economy is fairly diversified has, in general, mitigated the effects of therecent droughts.
6. Morocco’s national currency is the dirham (DH), whose exchange rate is fixed according to a
basket composed of the currencies of Morocco’s main trading partners in proportion to their share of
Morocco’s trade and financial transactions.  Competitiveness, measured in terms of the real effective
exchange rate, has been relatively stable since 1995, with a slight downturn from 1998 to 2000
(Table I.2).  In 2001, following a revision of the bask et for the dirham, the real effective exchange rate
returned practically to its 1998 level.
Table I.2
Main economic indicators, 1995-01
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Percentage
Miscellaneous
Rate of growth in real GDP -6.6 12.2 -2.2 7.7 -0.1 1.0 6.5
Unemployment rate .. .. .. .. 13.9 13.6 12.8
Urban 22.9 18.1 16.9 19.1 22.0 21.4 19.5
R u r a l . .. .. .. . 5 . 4 5 . 0 4 . 5
Inflation rate (variation in the cost-of-living
index)b6.1 3.0 1.0 2.8 0.7 1.9 0.6
Interest rate .. .. .. 6.0 5.4 5.0 4.71
Percentage of GDP
National accounts
Domestic final consumption 89.0 88.0 86.5 86.1 85.2 86.8 ..
Government authorities 17.4 16.9 17.8 18.0 19.2 19.2 ..
Households 71.6 71.2 68.7 68.1 66.0 67.6 ..
  Private final consumption of residents 68.5 67.4 65.3 64.4 61.8 62.8 ..
Gross fixed capital formation 21.4 19.4 20.7 22.0 23.7 24.1 22.3
Variation in stocks -0.7 0.2 0.0 0.1 -0.3 0.4 ..
Exports 19.0 17.2 18.8 17.7 19.0 20.3 ..
Imports -28.7 -24.9 -25.9 -26.0 -27.5 -31.4 ..
Percentage of GDP
Government financec
Overall deficit of surplus -5.2 -1.9 -3.1 -2.3 -0.7 -2.6 -4.2
Current revenue 23.9 24.6 24.6 26.0 28.5 30.3 23.3
Current spending 22.1 20.9 22.2 22.5 23.1 23.6 21.7
  Public debt servicing 6.0 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.4 4.9 4.3
Investment 5.3 4.8 4.5 4.7 4.7 5.3 4.7
Monetary situation (at 31 December)
M1 (fiduciary money + scriptural money) 5.5 5.1 7.7 6.7 11.5 8.2 15.9
M2 (M1 + demand deposits) 6.7 5.8 8.2 7.8 11.6 7.9 15.3
M3 (M2 + long-term deposits) 7.7 6.7 9.2 6.0 10.2 8.4 14.1
Percentage of GDP
Balance of payments
Trade balance -7.5 -6.0 -5.6 -6.5 -6.9 -9.7 -8.9
Table I.2 (cont'd)
                                                     
1 IMF (2001).Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/116
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1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Exports of goods and services 27.4 26.3 28.5 27.8 30.1 31.4 33.0
Imports of goods and services -34.1 -29.6 -31.8 -31.9 -33.9 -37.7 -36.3
Current account balance -3.9 -0.2 -0.5 -0.4 -0.5 -1.5 ..
Balance of capital account and financial
transactions-3.0 -2.2 -3.0 -1.8 -0.1 -2.3 ..
Domestic debt 33.3 34.6 38.2 38.1 39.5 42.2 47.5
External debt 46.1 41.0 41.0 36.6 35.9 33.5 29.1
Percentage
Exchange rates
Dirham/US dollar (end of period) 8.469 8.800 9.714 92.550 10.087 10.619 11.560
Dirham/SDR (end of period) 12.589 12.653 13.107 13.031 13.845 13.836 14.528
Nominal effective exchange rate 100.0 100.7 102.6 103.8 105.5 108.9 106.4
Real effective exchange rate 100.0 100.8 101.7 104.2 105.2 108.2 103.7
.. Not available.
a Population aged 15 years or over.
b 385 articles.
c Change of fiscal year in 1996 and then in 2000.  The budgetary periods covered by the figures in the table are (in order):  19 95;
1996/97;  1997/98;  1998/99;  1999/00;  and 2001.
Source: Ministry of Economic For ecasting and Planning, Statistical Department (2000);  IMF (2002);  and Moroccan
authorities.
7. The Treasury’s external debt has continued to decline since the early 1990s and amounted to
DH 92.6 billion in 2002, compared with DH 131 bill ion in 1996;  its share of Morocco’s total
indebtedness is now 32.6 per cent.  The total amount of public debt outstanding, however, rose from
DH 241.5 billion in 1996 to DH 284.1 billion in 2002.
(2) RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
8. Morocco’s economy has gone through a somewhat difficult period, marked by four droughts
in eight years.  Nevertheless, although the 1995 drought had a serious impact on real GDP, themeasures put in place since then and the continued diversification of the economy helped to limit the
effects of the 1997, 1999 and 2000 droughts.  Between 1995 and 2001, there were three years of
strong economic growth (Table I.2).  Despite the vagaries of the climate, Morocco has pursued the
economic reforms initiated several decades ago.  The purpose of these reforms, sustained by partners
such as the European Union, the African Development Bank and the World Bank, is to implement adevelopment strategy aimed at strong, “healthy” and sustainable economic growth.  This implies,
inter alia , a quest for macroeconomic balances.  Structural reforms (particularly continuation of the
privatization programme, an improved business climate, and the granting of certain incentives to
investors) have also been introduced in order to modernize the economy.
9. As regards budgetary policy, the measures taken to limit spending have mainly consisted of
eliminating certain subsidies (on oilseeds, oil, and sugar for industrial use) and improving budget
performance.  Efforts have been made to increase revenue by broadening the tax base, raising the
ordinary value added tax from 19 to 20 per cent in 1996, and improving the collection of duties and
taxes.
2  In general, the budget deficit has show n a downward trend since 1995.  However, this
performance is partly the result of financing government spending through the income derived fromprivatization;  concessions granted by the State;  and, on an exceptional basis, contributions to the
State’s budget by government enterprises such as the Moroccan Phosphates Board (OCP) and the
                                                     
2 The measures taken to improve the collection of duties and taxes range from upgrading and
modernizing the tax administration to combating tax fraud (by imposing penalties since 1997) and smuggling(customs duties have been lowered on products that were frequently smuggled).WT/TPR/S/116 Trade Policy Review
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National Electricity Board (ONE) in 1998.  In the long term, budgetary reform will be essential
because the absence of tangible controls over government spending and the financing of some of the
State’s current spending through special resources could only be maintained with difficulty.
10. In addition to the global objectives of achieving macroeconomic balances, monetary policy is
specially designed to limit inflation.  For this pu rpose, a goal for annual growth in the monetary
supply (in general M3) has been fixed in the form of rates or a range of rates based on the predictabletrend in nominal GDP and, where necessary, measures are taken to remedy any abnormal change in
liquidity likely to have a negative impact on price levels.  In addition to the figure for obligatory
reserves (14 per cent in March 2003 compared with 10 per cent in December 2002) for demand
deposits, refinancing and open market operations (withdrawal and injection of liquidity into the
market) and recovery of liquidity (in force since 1999) are used to correct any abnormal variation inthe monetary supply.  In 2001, monetary rehabilitation was implemented in order to circumscribe the
effects of the flow of foreign currency resulting from partial privatization (35 per cent) of Maroc
Télécom, the increase in transfers by Moroccan residents abroad, the rise in earnings from tourism,
and the disposal of foreign bank notes following the change to the euro.  It was underpinned by open
market operations and a recovery in liquidity and then by the lowering of leading rates.
11. Overall, there has been monetary discipline.  It has been sustained by the fact that the
Treasury has not made use of conventional advances (since 1998) or statutory advances (since 2001)
from the Central Bank.
3  Monetary policy has thus been a decisive factor in controlling inflation in
Morocco and has helped to keep the dirham relativel y stable.  In order to boost the anchoring of the
dirham to the euro, on 25 April 2001, Morocco revised the basket of currencies composing its
currency.  This led to a depreciation of 5 per cent (equivalent to a depreciation in the nominal
effective exchange rate of 3.6 per cent and in the re al effective exchange rate of 5.4 per cent) in the
value of the dirham compared to the euro.4
12. There are currently no exchange restrictions on payments for current account transactions.5
However, some capital account transactions (including investment abroad) by Moroccan residents still
require prior authorization by the Foreign Exchange Board.
(3) TRADE PERFORMANCE AND INVESTMENT
(i) Trade in goods and services
13. Morocco has traditionally recorded deficits in its trade balance.  Added to the deficits in the
income account, these have generally contributed to the deficits in the balance of current operations,
despite the continued surplus in the transfers and se rvices accounts (Table I.3).  A marked increase in
the surpluses for transfers and services, however, led to a large surplus in the current transactions
account in 2001.  The traditional surplus in transfers is mainly due to the revenue from Moroccans
residing abroad (on average, 88 per cent of this balance between 1997 and 2001).  Net external
                                                     
3 Since 2001, the Treasury has been solely financed by domestic market resources.
4 Bank Al-Magrib (2002).  The revision was decided at a time when the euro was still weak in
comparison with the United States dollar and, to a certa in extent, the dirham was appreciating against the euro.
The aim was, inter alia , to make the dirham more stable vis-à-vis  the euro, the currency of Morocco’s leading
trade partner.
5 On 21 January 1993, Morocco accepted Article VIII of the Articles of Agreement of the International
Monetary Fund.Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/116
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reserves accounted for around 8.8 months of imports of non-factor goods and services in 2002, an
increase in comparison with 2001 (4.7 months).6
Table I.3
Balance of payments, 1995-01
(US$ millions)
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Balance in the current transactions account -1,296 -58 -169 -146 -171 -501 1,606.0
Trade balance -2,482 -2,193 -1,864 -2,319 -2,448 -3,235 -3,022.0
  Exports f.o.b. 6,871 6,886 7,039 7,144 7,509 7,419 7,142.0
  Imports, f.o.b. -9,353 -9,080 -8,903 -9,463 -9,957 -10,654 -10,164.0
Services balance 283 961 747 864 1,112 1,142 1910
  Credit 2,173 2,743 2,471 2,827 3,115 3,034 4,029.0
  Debit -1,890 -1,782 -1,724 -1,963 -2,003 -1,892 -2,119.0
Revenue balance -1,318 -1,309 -1,176 -1,033 -985 -864 -833.0
Current transfers (net) 2,220 2,483 2,123 2,343 2,150 2,456 3,550.0
Capital account balance -6 73 -5 -10 -9 -6 -9.0
Financial operations account balance -984 -897 -990 -644 -13 -774 -967.0
Direct investment in Morocco 92 76 4 12 3 221 144.0
Direct investment abroad -15 -30 -9 -20 -18 -59 -97.0
Portfolio investment 20 142 38 24 6 17 -8.0
Other investment -1,083 -1,085 -1,022 -660 -4 -954 -1,006.0
Errors and omissions 391 209 175 160 123 114 230.0
Overall balance -1,895 -673 -988 -640 -69 -1,167 860
Financing 1,895 673 988 640 69 1,167 -860
Reserve assets 984 -274 -553 -248 -1,636 416 -3,842.0
Use of IMF resources -101 -47 -3 0 0 0 0.0
Exceptional financing 1,013 995 1,544 887 1,705 751 2,982.0
Gross official reserves
Foreign exchange reserves in terms of months of
imports4.6 5 5.4 5.2 6.7 5.4 9.9
Source: IMF (2002).
14. Morocco’s major imports and exports are manufactures (around 62 per cent of imports and
65 per cent of exports of goods in value terms in 2001).  Machinery and transport equipment, textiles
and chemicals, are the main imports (Table AI.1).  Imports of textiles are mainly in connection with
sub-contracting, particularly with partners in the European Union (EU).  The rapid increase in their
share of total imports of goods between 1997 and 1998 was mainly due to a change in the way they
are entered in the accounts (how they are reflected in trade statistics).  Agricultural foodstuffs andproducts of the mining and quarrying industries are the principal primary goods imported (Chart I.1).
Variations in imports of fuel primarily reflect the fluctuations in their global prices.
                                                     
6 Ministry of Finance and Privatization, Department of General Economic Policy (2002).WT/TPR/S/116 Trade Policy Review
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0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
a
Source:Chart I.1
Structure of imports, 1994 -2001a
The change in the method of reflecting sub-contracting activities in the accounts in 1998 makes it difficult to 
compare the statistics prior to that date and those after 1998.
WTO Secretariat calculations based on data obtained from the United Nations Comtrade database;  data 
provided b y the Moroccan authorities.Food products
Iron and steel
Non-electrical machinery
TextilesAgricultural raw materials
Chemicals
Electrical machinery
OtherFuel
Other semi-finished products
Products of the automobile
industry
15. The main exports are manufactures, primarily chemicals and clothing (Table AI.2 and
Chart I.2).  As is the case for imports, the change in the accounting methodology explains the
substantial rise in the share of clothing in total exports of goods in 1998.
16. The EU is Morocco’s principal trade partner, both for imports and exports (Chart I.3).  France
alone provides over 20 per cent (24 per cent in 2000 and 22.5 per cent in 2001) of total imports;
within the EU, the other main sources of Moroccan imports are Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and
Germany (Table AI.3).  Outside the EU, Morocco also imports goods from the United States and
Saudi Arabia;  the volume of imports from other regions is negligible.Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/116
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0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
a
Source:Chart I.2
Structure of exports, 1994 -2001a
The change in the method of reflecting sub-contracting activities in the accounts in 1998 makes it difficult to 
compare the statistics prior to that date and those after 1998.
WTO Secretariat calculations based on data obtained from the United Nations Comtrade database.Molluscs (ISIC 0363)
Other food productsInorganic acids (ISIC 5223)Clothing Fish preparations (ISIC 0371)Calcium phosphate (ISIC 2723)
Other chemicalsOther Oranges (ISIC 0567)Other ores and mineralsElectrical machinery
17. France takes over one quarter of Morocco’s exports of goods, followed by Spain, the United
Kingdom, Italy, and Germany (Table AI.4).  In terms of share of trade, the order of importance of the
leading partners is the same, both for imports and exports.  The high concentration of exports to the
EU recorded from 1998 onwards is mainly due to  the change in the method of reflecting sub-
contracting operations in the accounts.
18. Morocco is a net exporter of services (Table I.3).  Earnings from exports of services are equal
to over 40 per cent of exports of goods and generally rising.  This is mainly due to the revenue fromtravel operations, whose surplus in dirhams almost doubled over the period.WT/TPR/S/116 Trade Policy Review
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Chart I.3
Destination and origin of trade, 1995 and 2001
Percentage
1995 2001
(a) Imports
(b) ExportsTotal: US$8,540.5 million Total: US$11,036.7 million
Total: US$4,718.9 million Total: US$7,114.1 millionEurope
66.4
including
EU 56.1Asia
14.8
Europe
62.6
including 
EU 54.0Asia
19.1
Asia
18.8America
12.7America
9.9
America
6.1United States
6.5
United 
Kingdom 3.6Spain
8.5
Germany
6.3Other countries 
in America
6.2
France
21.8Other Asian 
countries
9.5
Other 
European 
countries
10.3Saudi Arabia
5.3
Other EU 
countries
10.2
Italy
5.7Africa
5.9Other 
0.2
United States
3.7
United 
Kingdom
5.4Spain
9.5
Germany
5.1Other countries 
in America
6.2
France
22.5Other Asian 
countries
10.7
Other European 
countries
8.6Saudi Arabia
4.7
Other EU 
countries
6.3Italy
5,2Africa
5.5Other 
2.9
Iraq  3.7
Europe
66.1
including 
EU 62.1United States
3.4
United 
Kingdom
4.5Spain 9.4
Italy
5.7Other countries 
in America
2.7
France
29.7Other Asian 
countries
4.5
Other 
European 
countries 
4.0Japan
7.7
Other EU 
countries 8.7Germany
4.1Africa
8.0Other 
1.0
India  6.6
Asia
10.8America
6.5
Europe
75.5
including 
EU 72.5United States
3.9
United Kingdom
 8.2Spain
14.6Italy
5.7Other countries 
in America
2.6
France
32.5Other Asian 
countries  4.4
Other European 
countries 3.0Japan 3.0
Other EU 
countries 6.8
Germany 4.7Africa
4.2 Other 
3.0
India  3.4
Source: WTO Secretariat calculations based on data obtained from the United Nations Comtrade database.Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/116
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(ii) Investment
19. Morocco’s gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) is around 22 per cent of GDP, with an
upward trend since 1996.  Foreign direct investment (FDI) has fluctuated over the period, although
there has been an upward trend (Table I.3).  The trend in FDI is strongly marked by the privatization
or restructuring of State enterprises (partial or total sale of enterprises, public service concessionsgranted to foreigners) and the conversion of the external public debt into investment.  The most
important purchases of State enterprises by foreigners took place in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
7  In 2000,
FDI was about US$ 500 million, compared with almo st US$ 3 billion in 2001.  Furthermore, in 2001,
the accumulated amount of debt converted into investment was DH 5.3 billion.
20. The flow of FDI for privatization operations has also had a strong impact on its sectoral
distribution (Chart I.4).  The total flow over seven years (as of 1996) has reached almost
DH 70 billion.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%1996199719981999200020011996-2001
Property and major works
Holdings, banking
and insuranceAgriculture andfishingTelecommunications Industry Trade TourismChart I.4
Breakdown of foreign direct investment by  sector, 1996-2001
Source: Data provided by the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Board, 2002.Petroleum, energy
and miningOther
                                                     
7 In 1997, the SAMIR and SCP refineries were sold to CORRAL, a Swedish group with Saudi capital,
and the concession for Jorf Lasfar thermal power station went to the American group ABB;  in 1999, a secondGSM licence was granted to the Spanish-Portuguese consortium Méditel, and in 2001, 35 per cent of the capitalof Maroc Télécom was sold to the French group Vivendi Universal.WT/TPR/S/116 Trade Policy Review
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21. FDI and foreign private loans mainly come from European Union countries, namely, France,
Portugal and Spain, and from the United States (C hart I.5).  Even though the relative importance of
each country varies greatly from year to year, Fran ce has usually been the major source of investment;
it has a marked presence in almost all sectors, with the exception of agriculture, due inter alia  to the
difficulty of acquiring agricultural land (Chapter IV(2)(i)).
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%1996199719981999200020011996-2001
Netherlands Sweden Other France Portugal United States SpainChart I.5
Breakdown of foreign direct investment by country, 1996-2001
Source: Data provided by the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Board, 2002.
22. Morocco has made progress in improving the administrative and regulatory climate for
investment.  It nevertheless remains somewhat complex due to the lengthy administrative procedures
and their lack of transparency in some cases.  In the majority of economic sectors, foreign investmentis not subject to any restrictions.  The exceptions concern agriculture, where foreigners are not
allowed to purchase land (Chapter IV(2)(i)); the State monopoly in areas such as phosphates, tobacco,
construction, operating and managing transport infrastructure (Chapter IV(2)(iii)(c), (3)(i)(b) and
(5)(iii));  and the obligation for foreign investors to be associated with Moroccan shareholders when
exercising certain professions such as pharmacy, accounting, and architecture.
23. The establishment of regional investment centres is expected to improve the investment
climate (16 centres are already open) and should simplify administrative formalities.
(4) O
UTLOOK
24. If climatic conditions are favourable, growth in real GDP is forecast to be 5.5 per cent in
2003.  The increase of 12.3 per cent in value added in the agricultural sector (good harvests areKingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/116
Page 11
expected) compared with 4.3 per cent in the non-ag ricultural sector should lead to such a growth
figure.  The expected performance in the non-agricultural sector should come from tourism,
construction and public works, industrial activities, transport, and trade.  The agreement between the
textiles and clothing industry and the State, together with the financial support promised by the latter,
could improve performance in this industry.8
25. In 2003, economic performance could also be boosted by domestic final demand.  According
to the forecasts, household consumption (the main component of such demand) should rise, taking
into account the predicted improvement in rural income and the revaluation of the wages of certain
civil service categories.  In conjunction with the expected rise in imports of capital goods and in
consumption as a result of the consolidation of investment and the continued dismantling of tariffs,
this situation should lead to a slight deterioration in the trade balance in 2003.  The continuation of theprivatization programme should help to lower the budg et deficit (estimated to be 4.2 per cent of GDP
in 2002) in 2003 and 2004.
9
26. If the currencies that compose the dirham do not fluctuate too much in 2003, inflation could
be around 2 per cent.  A stronger euro vis-à-vis  the United States dollar could enhance the
competitiveness of Morocco’s products, although exports would be affected by a slowing down ofeconomic activities in Europe.  The signing of a free-trade agreement with the United States would
also be beneficial, particularly as regards exports.
                                                     
8 EIU (2002).
9 The Government is considering selling further shar es in Maroc Télécom, 66 per cent of the Régie des
tabacs (RT), the companies Surac and Sunabel, 38 per cent of SOMACA, and some banks, as well as granting asecond fixed licence.