. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/N/6/MAR/3 
22 February 2005 
 
 (05-0732) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:   French 
  
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.1(A) OF THE AGREEMENT 
ON SAFEGUARDS ON INITIATION OF AN INVESTIGATION 
AND THE REASONS FOR IT 
 
MOROCCO 
 
(Ceramic Tiles
) 
   The following communication, dated 17 February 2005, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Morocco. 
 
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 The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Morocc o to the United Nations Office at Geneva 
and Other International Organizations in Switzerland presents its compliments to the Secretariat of the 
World Trade Organization and has the honour to tr ansmit herewith the notification submitted by the 
competent Moroccan authorities to  the Committee on Safeguards under Article 12.1(a) of the 
Agreement on Safeguards.   After examining the request made by the ceramic  tile industry for the application of safeguard 
measures against imports of ceramic tiles, the Ministry of Foreign Trade has decided to open an 
investigation in accordance with the pr ovisions of the Agreement on Safeguards. 
  Pursuant to Article 12.1(a) of the above-m entioned Agreement, and taking into account the 
format adopted by the Committee on Safeguards fo r notifications under the Agreement on Safeguards 
(G/SG/N/6 of 7 February 1995), the Kingdom of Morocco  hereby notifies that the Ministry of Foreign 
Trade has initiated a safeguards investigation as follows: 
 
1. Date of initiation of the investigation 
 
• The Ministry of Foreign Trade decided to open the investigation on 24 January 2005. 
 
• An announcement was put on the Ministry of Foreign Trade website 
(www.mce.gov.ma) and published on 3 February 2005 in Le Matin du Sahara  
(issue No. 12432, page 10), the most widely circulated daily newspaper in Morocco. 
 
2. Products subject to the investigation  
  Ceramic paving and wall tiles classified under ta riff heading 6908 of the Harmonized System 
adopted by the customs tariff of the Kingdom of Morocco.  G/SG/N/6/MAR/3 
Page 2  
 
 3. Reasons for the initiation of the investigation 
 
 The investigation was opened by the Ministry  of Foreign Trade following a request submitted 
by the domestic industry and on the basis of the information and evidence contained in that request. 
 
 The Ministry of Foreign Trade has evidence of  the existence of a substantial increase in 
imports of ceramic tiles both in relation to domest ic production and in absolute terms, which are 
causing or threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry.   The fact is that imports of ceramic tile s increased by 78.2 per cent between 2002 and 2003, 
and by 124.6 per cent between 2002 and 2004.  In  relation to domestic production, the share of 
imports, which had not exceeded 10 per cent in the y ears prior to 2002, stood at 20 per cent in 2002 
and at 35 per cent in 2003, reaching 44 per cent in 2004.   The evidence of serious injury shows an ove rall impairment in the position of the domestic 
industry caused by the stagnation of production at a time when the market was experiencing sustained 
demand.  Sales and profits have declined and at the same time there has been a drop in the prices of domestic products.   Accordingly, the Ministry of Foreign Trade decided to initiate a safeguards investigation. 
 
 The data for 2004 are provisional. 
 
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