RESTRICTED  WORLD  TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/TPR/S/217 
20 May 2009  
 
(09-2402) 
Trade Policy Review Body  
   
 
  
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
 
Report by the Secretariat 
 
KINGDOM OF MOROCCO 
 
  
 
This report, prepared for the fourth Trade Policy Review of the Kingdom of 
Morocco, has been drawn up by the WTO Secretariat on its own responsibility.  
The Secretariat has, as required by th e Agreement establishing the Trade Policy 
Review Mechanism (Annex 3 of the Ma rrakesh Agreement Establishing the 
World Trade Organization), sought clarification from the Kingdom of Morocco 
on its trade policies and practices. 
 
Any technical questions arising from this report may be addressed to 
Mr Jacques Degbelo (Tel.:  022/739 5583)  and Ms Ulla Kask (Tel.:  022/739 
5627) 
 
Document WT/TPR/G/217 contains the policy statement submitted by the 
Kingdom of Morocco. 
 
 
 
Note: This report is subject to restricted circ ulation and press embargo until the end of the first 
session of the meeting of the Trade Policy Re view Body on the Kingdom of Morocco. Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/217 
 Page iii 
 
 
CONTENTS 
 
  Page 
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS vii 
 (1) E CONOMIC ENVIRONMENT  vii 
 (2) T RADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES  viii 
 (3) T RADE POLICY INSTRUMENTS  ix 
 (4) S ECTORAL POLICY  x 
 (5) T RADE POLICY AND TRADING PARTNERS  xi 
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 1 
 (1) M AIN FEATURES OF THE ECONOMY  1 
 (2) R ECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS  3 
 (3) T RADE AND INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE  6 
 (i) Trade in goods and services 6 
 (ii) Investment 9 
 (4) O UTLOOK  10 
II. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 12 
 (1) I NSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK  12 
 (2) T RADE POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION  14 
 (3) T RADE POLICY OBJECTIVES  17 
 (4) T RADE AGREEMENTS AND ARRANGEMENTS  19 
 (i) World Trade Organization (WTO) 19 
 (ii) Regional agreements 20 
 (iii) Bilateral agreements and arrangements 22  (iv) Other agreements and arrangements 26 
 (5) I
NVESTMENT REGIME  27 
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE 33 
 (1) I NTRODUCTION  33 
 (2) M EASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING IMPORTS  34 
 (i) Customs procedures 34  (ii) Customs valuation 37 
 (iii) Customs levies 37 
 (iv) Rules of origin 47  (v) Import prohibitions, quantitative restrictions and licensing 48 
 (vi) Contingency measures 49 
 (vii) Standards and other technical requirements 51 
 (3) M
EASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING EXPORTS  57 
 (i) Procedures 57 
 (ii) Export taxes 58 
 (iii) Export prohibitions, licensing and control 58 
 (iv) Export subsidies, promotion and support 59 
 WT/TPR/S/217 Trade Policy Review 
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  Page 
 (4) M EASURES AFFECTING PRODUCTION AND TRADE  64 
 (i) State trading, government -own ed enterprises and privatization 64 
 (ii) Incentives 66  (iii) Competition policy and price controls 67 
 (iv) Government procurement 69 
 (v) Intellectual property rights 72 
IV. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY SECTOR 79 
 (1) I
NTRODUCTION  79 
 (2) A GRICULTURE AND RELATED ACTIVITIES  80 
 (i) Overview 80 
 (ii) Policy objectives and instruments 81 
 (iii) Policies by product subsector 84 
 (3) M INING AND ENERGY  92 
 (i) Mining 92 
 (ii) Energy 94 
 (4) M ANUFACTURING SECTOR  99 
 (i) Overview 99 
 (ii) Textiles and clothing 100 
 (iii) Transport equipment 101 
 (5) S ERVICES  103 
 (i) Overview 103 
 (ii) Transport 103 
 (iii) Tourism 111  (iv) Telecommunications and postal services 115 
 (v) Financial services 119 
 (vi) Professional services 125 
REFERENCES   131 
APPENDIX TABLES  133 
 Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/217 
 Page v 
 
 
CHARTS 
 
Page 
 I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
 
I.1 Destination and origin of trade, 2001 and 2007 4 I.2 Structure of trade, 2001-2007 8 
 
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE  
III.1 Trend in variable customs duty on sugar (in lumps, loaves, or slabs), 2008 40 
III.2 Breakdown of applied tariffs by sector (ISIC, revision 2), 2009 41 III.3 Escalation of tariffs by the two-digit ISIC, 2009 43 
 
 
TABLES 
 
I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
 
I.1 Selected macroeconomi c indicators, 2002-2008 2 
I.2 Balance of payments, 2002-2008 7 
I.3 Foreign direct investment in Morocco, 2002-2008 9 
 II. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 
 
II.1 Main Moroccan trade-related legislation in force, 2008 16 II.2 Regime under Article 17 of the Investment Charter 28 
 
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE  
III.1 Revenue from duties and taxes levied on imports, 2002-2008 38 
III.2 Variable customs duty applicable to sugar (of cane or beet) and chemically pure sucrose, 2008 39 
III.3 MFN tariff structure, 2002-2009 40 
III.4 Brief analysis of the MFN tariff, 2009 42 
III.5 Preferential rules of origin 47 III.6 Fiscal incentives given to free export zones (ZFE) 60 
III.7 Suspension regimes, 2009 61 
III.8 Sale of the State' s shares (excluding the Banque centrale populaire 
 (People's Central Bank (PCB)), 2002-2007 64 
III.9 Use of methods for awarding government procurement contracts, 2002-2007 71 III.10 Number and breakdown of applications fo r industrial property titles, 2001 and 2007 75 
 
IV. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY SECTOR  
IV.1 Coverage of demand by domestic production for the main agricultural products, 2002-2007 80 
IV.2 Agricultural premiums 83 IV.3 Variable customs duties applied to cereals, 2009 87 
IV.4 Border taxation of alcoholic beverages, 2009 88 
IV.5 Electricity generation, 2002-2008 97 IV.6 Basic rates for electricity, 2008 98 
IV.7 Development of the Moroccan automotive sector, 2002-2007 101 
IV.8 Main tourism indicators, 2001-2008 111 IV.9 System of incentives for investment in tourism 113 
IV.10 Telecommunications:  basic indicators, 2001-2008 116 WT/TPR/S/217 Trade Policy Review 
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APPENDIX TABLES 
 
Page 
 I. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
 
AI.1 Structure of imports, 2001-2007 135 AI.2 Structure of exports, 2001-2007 136 
AI.3 Origin of imports, 2001-2007 137 
AI.4 Origin of exports, 2001-2007 138  
II. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES 
 AII.1 Most recent notifications to the WTO, February 2009 139 
 
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE  
AIII.1 Applied MFN tariff averages by HS2 chapter, 2009 141 
AIII.2 Tariff lines for which the applied rate exceeds the bound rate, 2009 145 
AIII.3 Summary analysis of Morocco's preferential tariffs, 2009 146 
 IV. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY SECTOR 
 
AIV.1 Applied tariffs by ISIC Rev.2 category, 2009 149 AIV.2 Agricultural subsidies 153 
 
 Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/217 
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SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS 
 
(1) ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT  
1. The macroeconomic and structural 
reforms, including trade reforms, pursued by 
Morocco since the previous trade policy review (TPR) in 2003 have contributed to the growing diversification and positive overall performance of its economy, with an average 
annual rate of growth in real GDP of 4.5 per 
cent during the period 2002-2007 and 5.8 per cent in 2008.  GDP per capita nearly doubled, progressing from 1,386 US dollars in 2002 to approximately 2,426 US dollars in 2007, also influenced by the depreciation of the dollar.  
Economic growth was underpinned, in 
particular, by strong internal demand and increased investment.  However, the economy is beginning to feel the impact of the decline in demand from abroad in the wake of the 
international financial and economic crisis.  
Unemployment remains a major concern, even though it fell from 11 per cent in 2002 to 9.8 per cent in 2007.  It remains particularly high in urban areas (14.5 per cent). 
2. The continuing fiscal reform and the 
control of operational spending has helped to 
bring the public deficit down from 3.9 per cent of GDP in 2005 to 1.5 per cent in 2006.  A slight surplus of 0.7 per cent of GDP was recorded in 2007, and a surplus of 0.4 per cent 
of GDP is estimated for 2008.  The Treasury's 
total debt fell from 64 per cent of GDP in 2002 to 54 per cent in 2007.  Morocco's external debt has also been reduced and is currently around 20 per cent of GDP, and the external 
debt/export ratio decreased from 128.7 per 
cent in 2002 to 62.6 per cent in 2007, thanks in particular to the conversion of the external debt into public and private investment, the refinancing of expensive debt, advanced repayment, and improvement of the foreign 
currency structure.  Monetary policy coupled 
with fiscal policy helped to stabilize the national currency (the dirham) and to keep inflation (as measured by the consumer price index) down to between 1.2 and 3.3 per cent 
per year over the period in question, until it 
rose to 3.9 per cent in 2008.  Since the 2006 reform, monetary policy, which was formerly 
under the joint responsibility of the Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) and the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, has been under the sole 
responsibility of the BAM. 
3. Morocco has a relatively diversified 
economy, although the services sector's contribution to GDP is sizeable and increasing overall (around two thirds).  The 
manufacturing sector occupies second place in 
terms of its contribution to GDP, followed by the agricultural sector (including livestock breeding, forestry and fishing), where the share is declining;  the mining and energy sector only makes a modest contribution to 
GDP.  Generally speaking, tourism is 
Morocco's principal source of foreign currency, followed by financial transfers from Moroccans resident abroad, and phosphate products.  Consequently, Morocco is a net 
exporter of services.  Earnings from exports of 
services more than doubled between 2002 and 2006, chiefly thanks to tourism;  they are equivalent to over 80 per cent of exports of goods.  Morocco's imports of goods, like its exports, mainly consist of manufactured goods 
(around 63.7 per cent of imports and 65.3 per 
cent of exports of goods in value terms).  Machinery and transport equipment, textiles and chemicals are the major imports, while phosphate, clothing, and machinery and 
transport equipment are the main exports.  
This composition of trade has resulted in structural trade balance deficits, largely covered by the traditional surplus in transfers (from the income of Moroccans residing 
abroad) and services, with a surplus in the 
current transactions account between 2002 and 2006, although there was a slight deficit in 2007. 
4. The EC is still Morocco's leading 
trade partner, as regards both imports (51.4 per 
cent of the total) and exports (71.9 per cent of 
the total).  Taken individually, France is the main supplier of goods to Morocco, followed by Spain.  France is also the main destination for Moroccan goods exports, followed by 
Spain.  However, there have been the WT/TPR/S/217 Trade Policy Review 
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beginnings of a diversification of Morocco's 
trading partners since 2003. 
5. There was a marked increase in 
foreign direct investment (FDI) during the 
period under review, reaching a record level of 
DH 37.6 billion in 2007.  The sectors concerned by FDI have chiefly been tourism, but also real estate, telecommunications, transport and industry.  The significant 
increase in investment has been boosted, 
inter alia , by the continued reforms (including 
privatization) aimed at enhancing the business climate and factor costs, the initiation of infrastructure projects, as well as new sectoral policies.  France is still the main investor, 
followed by Spain, the United Arab Emirates, 
the United Kingdom, and Germany. 
(2) T
RADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES  
6. The Kingdom of Morocco is a 
constitutional monarchy.  The underlying 
principle of Moroccan law is the supremacy of 
international legal instruments, including the WTO agreements, over domestic law.  According to the internal hierarchy of regulations, the Constitution is followed by laws, decrees, orders and internal measures 
(such as circular notes).  The Minister of 
Foreign Trade formulates trade policy.  Depending on the subject-matter, he coordinates the policy with the ministries concerned.  Changes to the customs tariff are 
governed by laws;  they may also be 
implemented by decree, on a proposal by the Government, but they must then be endorsed in the finance law for the year following their adoption and, consequently, approved by the 
two houses a posteriori. 
7. The Ministry of Foreign Trade is 
assisted by the Commission consultative des 
importations  – CCI (Advisory Commission on 
Imports), whose brief is to provide advice on all matters relating to requests for tariff 
protection or the adoption of contingency 
measures.  At the same time, the Conseil 
national du commerce extérieur  – CNCE 
(National Foreign Trade Council), established in July 1996 and made up of representatives of the Government and economic operators, is 
responsible for providing advice on any matters relating to foreign trade relations and for making suggestions with a view to 
improving the competitiveness of Moroccan 
products and services.  The Council provides its advisory services at the request of the Government or the private sector.  Morocco also consults its trading partners through joint 
commissions established under bilateral, 
regional and multilateral agreements.  Maroc Export (Moroccan Export Promotion Centre), a State body under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, is responsible for promoting and developing exports of industrial 
and agricultural products, and services. 
8. In February 2009, the Agence 
marocaine de développement des 
investissements  – AMDI (Moroccan 
Investment Development Agency) replaced 
the Investment Directorate, which had been 
under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and New Technology (MCINET).  The AMDI is in charge of investment promotion.  The 16 Regional Investment Centres (CRIs) provide investors 
with the help they need locally.  The 
Investment Commission (CI), for which the AMDI acts as Secretariat, is responsible for taking steps to improve the investment environment. 
9. Morocco is an original Member of the 
WTO, and grants all its trading partners at least MFN treatment.  It is not a party to any of the plurilateral agre ements concluded under 
WTO auspices.  Morocco has played an active 
part in the multilateral trade negotiations, and 
in particular, it contributed significantly to the agreement reached on TRIPS and Public Health as the then coordinator of the countries of the African Group.  However, it has fallen behind with its notifications in various fields 
(in particular agriculture).   
10. Morocco is a member of the Arab 
Maghreb Union (UNA) and the Pan-Arab Free Trade Area.  Since 2003, it has concluded bilateral agreements with countries such as the 
United States and Turkey, and it is currently Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/217 
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engaged in negotiations with partners such as 
MERCOSUR and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).  The Arab-Mediterranean Free Trade Agreement 
concluded between Morocco, Egypt, Jordan 
and Tunisia entered into force in March 2007.  Morocco has a free trade agreement with EFTA and an association agreement with the EC.  It has signed the agreement on the Global 
System of Trade Preferences among 
Developing Countries (GSTP) and the framework agreement on the Trade Preferences System (TPS) among Islamic countries, in force since 2003, was ratified by Morocco on 25 July 2006. 
11. On the whole, the investment regime 
is liberal, with most sectors open to private investment, including foreign investment.  However, no investment, either foreign or domestic, is possible in the subsectors in 
which the State has a monopoly (phosphates, 
hazardous waste management, wholesale fruit and vegetable distribution, fish halls and slaughterhouses, some postal services, and water and electricity supplies) or which are under private monopoly (wholesale 
importation and distribution of manufactured 
tobacco).  Other subsectors have been opened up to private capital through delegated management or by concession;  water and electricity distribution, the management of 
public sea ports, railway infrastructure 
management and the operation of rail transport services, and waste management, inter alia , 
are open to private operators (national or foreign).  Certain monopolies have been 
temporarily transferred to the private sector 
under operating licenses, for example, the monopoly on the marketing of pure ethyl alcohol.  Foreign persons are not allowed to purchase agricultural land.   
(3) T
RADE POLICY INSTRUMENTS  
12. Since 2003, Morocco has continued to 
take trade facilitation measures.  For example, the streamlining of customs procedures, notably the Base automatisée des douanes en 
réseau  – BADR (Computerized Online 
Customs Database), which started to operate in January 2009, has raised the level of 
computerization of customs procedures to over 90 per cent.  Import licences or permits are chiefly required for safety, health or 
environmental reasons, or for goods covered 
by international agreements. 
13. Morocco has lowered its customs 
duties, the simple arithmetic average having fallen by 13.2 per cent since 2002 to the 
current 20.2 per cent.  Agricultural products 
(WTO definition) are still subject to higher tariffs (an average of 45.5 per cent) than non-agricultural products (16.3 per cent, excluding petroleum).  Moreover, variable rates still apply to some agricultural products 
(37 ten-digit HS lines).  Overall, customs 
tariffs show mixed escalation, with higher rates on products from the first stage of processing than the second, primarily due to the high taxation on basic agricultural 
products. 
14. Morocco has bound all of its tariff 
lines solely at ad valorem  rates ranging from 
zero to 380 per cent, with a simple arithmetic average of 42 per cent (56.9 per cent on agricultural products and 39.6 per cent on 
non-agricultural products).  The other duties 
and taxes have been bound at 7.5 or 15 per cent.  Morocco has also bound access to its market for certain agricultural products by introducing tariff quotas which, in practice, are 
not applied because out-of-quota tariffs are 
lower than in-quota duties. 
15. For a total of 1,373 tariff lines 
(compared with 5,887 in 2002), the applied customs duty remains higher than the bound 
duty.  Nor do the variab le duties, where there 
is a negative correlation in the difference between the threshold price (set by the Government) and the import price, ensure that Morocco will respect its commitments, either as regards tariff bindings or in the context of 
the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement. 
16. Imported goods may also be subject to 
a number of other duties and taxes, including the parafiscal import tax of 0.25 per cent, the value added tax at rates of up to 20 per cent, WT/TPR/S/217 Trade Policy Review 
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and domestic consumption taxes.  However, 
the two VAT regimes ("internal" and "import") do not ensure respect for the principle of national treatment.  New 
safeguard measures in the form of an 
additional duty have been imposed on imports of ceramic tiles.   
17. Many incentives are given to 
investment or to specific sectors.  At the 
sectoral level, the Hassan II Fund for 
Economic and Social Development, created in 2000, helps, inter alia , to promote investment 
through financial contributions (in the form of financial holdings, refundable advances or loans and non-refundable financial 
contributions) to subsectors such as textiles, 
clothing and wearing apparel;  the automotive industry;  electronic assembly or sub-assembly;  the manufacture of equipment for the aeronautical industry;  nanotechnology;  
and microelectronics and biotechnology.  
From the time it was set up until the end of December 2005, 111 projects had been implemented involving contributions of over 
DH4.5 billion by the Fund, mainly in the textiles sector (51 per cent), followed by sub-
contracting in the automotive sector (31 per 
cent).  A large part of the Fund's resources come from privatization revenue. 
18. Fiscal incentives are still granted for 
agricultural products.  There are also 
incentives in the mining sector, the energy 
sector, and certain branches of the services sector (for example tourism and transport).  In order to promote exports, Morocco offers a number of benefits through its customs 
regimes.  Enterprises may also take advantage 
of the opportunities afforded by the free export zones regime.  The State grants subsidies to promote the export of certain agricultural products by air.  The remaining export taxes have been abolished, namely the tax on maize 
and on plant fibre in 2005, and the levy on the 
exploitation of phosphates in 2008.  Moreover, the 60 to 70 per cent local content requirement for the automobile assembly industries was abolished in 2004. 19. Morocco has also continued to shorten 
the list of goods and services subject to price controls.  Currently the State still controls the price of subsidized goods (domestic flour of 
common wheat, sugar, and energy products), 
basic services, health products and services, products and services subject to a monopoly (manufactured tobacco, postal services), and certain legal acts.  Progress has been made 
with structural reforms, including 
privatization, which has enabled Morocco to attract large amounts of foreign direct investment.  However, the State monopoly of the wholesale import of manufactured tobacco was handed over to the private sector, and will 
remain in effect until 2010 before being 
abolished. 
20. In 2007, Morocco introduced a new 
overall framework for government procurement and its control and management 
which, among other things, reaffirmed the 
preference that could be given to Moroccan enterprises for public works contracts and related surveys.  Morocco has also made a number of important modifications to its legislative framework for intellectual property, 
inter alia  by introducing new legislation on the 
protection of industrial property (to replace the 1916 Law), copyright and related rights, and distinctive indications of  origin and quality of 
food products and agricultural and fisheries 
products.  The protection of new plant 
varieties was strengthened by the entry into force of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants for Morocco on 8 October 2006.  The new 
legislation on standardization and sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures is currently being prepared. 
(4) S
ECTORAL POLICY  
21. Since 2003, Morocco has continued to 
reform its sectoral policies, making notable 
progress in the services sector, where Morocco 
is a net exporter, with tourism now the primary 
source of foreign exchange, ahead of transfers from Moroccans living abroad.  The positive 
trend in tourism is the combined result of the 
policy of incentives for the subsector and the Kingdom of Morocco WT/TPR/S/217 
 Page xi 
 
 
air transport liberalization policy.  The 
telecommunications sector has also been expanding rapidly thanks, in particular, to increased competition.  The regulatory 
environment for banking services has been 
reformed, and its scope extended to "related" institutions such as offshore banks and microcredit associations.  The autonomy of the Bank Al-Maghrib in relation to monetary 
policy has also been strengthened.  The 2002 
Insurance Code was amended in 2006.  Maritime freight transport on scheduled routes has been liberalized.  However, there are still State monopolies in subsectors such as rail transport and postal services.  The 
commitments made by Morocco in 1994 under 
the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) are substantial in the areas of tourism, telecommunications and certain financial services, but they remain limited in the areas 
of insurance and international road transport, 
in particular. 
22. Agriculture (ISIC Rev. 2 definition) 
plays a key role in Morocco's economy, particularly in terms of employment.  It remains the most heavily protected sector, 
with ad valorem  tariff rates as high as 304 per 
cent, although the average has fallen from 40 per cent in 2003 to 29 per cent in 2009;  variable duties apply to cereals and sugar.  Common wheat marketing is subject to a 
complex specific regime, the details of which 
are established at the beginning of each season.  Agricultural policy continues to be influenced by the need to  combat the effects of 
recurrent drought.  In addition to public 
investment, the sector benefits from numerous 
incentives in the form of financial assistance (subsidies and premiums), tax relief, and concessionary loans.  The aim of fisheries policy is to conserve resources, in particular by introducing selective fishing and reducing 
the level of informal activity.  In 2005, a new 
fisheries agreement, marking the resumption of fishing relations be tween the two partners, 
was concluded with the EC. 
23. The manufacturing sector is mainly 
focussed on exports, and is dominated by 
subcontracting (particularly in the textiles and clothing and the transport equipment 
industries).  The average import tariff in the sector is 19.9 per cent (as compared with 33 per cent in 2003).  The most heavily 
protected branch is food processing.  The 
mixed tariff escalation is unlikely, without incentives, to encourage investment in certain industries, in particular the semi-finished products industry.  Thus, there are various tax 
incentives available to the sector, mainly to 
promote exports.  The textiles and clothing industry is the most important of the processing industries in terms of exports and employment;  the present policy is aimed at facilitating its transition from sub-contracting 
to co-contracting and finished products. 
24. Morocco is the world's leading 
supplier and third-ranking producer of phosphates, the country's principal mineral resource.  The exploitation of phosphates 
continues to be a State monopoly exercised by 
the Office chérifien des phosphates  – OCP 
(Moroccan Phosphates Board).  In 2008, the OCP was converted into a public limited company with a view to improving its competitiveness.  The OCP is pursuing a new 
strategy in order to enable foreigners to make 
equity investments in fertilizer production on Moroccan territory.  Morocco imports about 97 per cent of its energy requirements, i.e. practically all of its requirements in 
petroleum products, electricity being produced 
locally.  The mining sector receives the least tariff protection, with an average duty of 9.1 per cent. 
(5) T
RADE POLICY AND TRADING 
PARTNERS  
25. Morocco takes an active part in the 
multilateral trading system, but is also a party to various regional and bilateral preferential agreements.  These agreements have resulted in substantial trade liberalization between 
Morocco and its main partners, in particular 
the EC.  However, belonging to several trade agreements whose geographical scope, liberalization programmes, and provisions on rules of origin ( inter alia ) differ, is not only 
difficult to manage, but also makes Morocco's WT/TPR/S/217 Trade Policy Review 
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trade regime more complex and reduces its 
predictability. 
26. Morocco still has difficulty respecting 
its binding and customs valuation 
commitments owing to its tariff protection, 
particularly in the agricultural sector.  Apart from the tariff structure and the use of variable duties, the problem stems above all from the imposition of tariffs at rates higher than the 
bound rates.  Consequently, a tariff reform 
involving the simplification of its tariff structure ( inter alia  by eliminating variable 
duties) and a reduction in the number and level of its rates, particularly in the agricultural 
sector, would help Morocco to honour its commitments and would further simplify its trade regime.  A reform of its domestic tax 
system, including VAT, would help in this 
respect.  Improved commitments under the GATS would enable Morocco to consolidate its reforms in areas such as tourism and telecommunications, areas in which its 
commitments fall short of the liberalization 
efforts already achieved.  Together with bold tax reforms, such commitments should help to enhance the transparency, predictability and credibility of Morocco's trade regime.