WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
G/SG/N/10/MAR/2 
G/SG/N/11/MAR/1 
2 September 2005 
 
 (05-3825) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:  French 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.1 (B) OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS, 
OF A FINDING OF SERIOUS INJURY OR THREAT OF SERIOUS INJURY 
CAUSED BY INCREASED IMPORTS 
 
NOTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 12.1 (C) AND ARTICLE 9, FOOTNOTE 2, OF 
THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS 
 
MOROCCO 
 
(Ceramic Tiles ) 
   The following communication, dated 18 August 2005,  is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Morocco.  
_______________ 
 
 
 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 (Rules Division) and has the honour to attach hereto Morocco's 
communication concerning the notification of a finding of serious injury or threat thereof caused by a 
massive increase in imports of ceramic tiles a nd the safeguard measures envisaged pursuant to 
Articles 12.1 (b), 12.1 (c) and 9.1 (footno te 2) of the Agreement on Safeguards. 
 In the light of the agreed format for notifica tions (document G/SG/W/1 of 23 February 1995), 
Morocco hereby notifies to the Committee on Safeguards:  
- A finding of serious injury or threat thereof caused by a massive increase in imports 
under Article 12.1 (b); 
- the safeguard measures provided for by Article 12.1 (c);  and  
- the developing country members which shall not be subject to the safeguard measure 
envisaged, pursuant to Article 9, footnote 2. 
 On 24 January 2005, Morocco opened an investig ation relating to serious injury or threat 
thereof caused to the national ceramic tile industry.  The opening of the investigation was notified to 
the Committee on Safeguards (document G/SG/N/6/MAR/3). G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
G/SG/N/10/MAR/2 G/SG/N/11/MAR/1 
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 1. Provide evidence of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports 
 In accordance with the provisions of Artic le 4.2 (a) of the Agreement on Safeguards, 
Morocco, in the investigation, evaluated all relevant factors that have a bearing on the situation of the 
domestic ceramic tile industry, which served as a b asis for determining whether the massive increase 
in imports had caused or was threatening to cause seri ous injury to the domestic industry.  The factors 
concerned were sales, market share, production, produ ctivity, inventories, capacity utilization, profits 
and losses, and employment. 
 Pursuant to Article 4.2 (b) of the Agreemen t on Safeguards, the causal link between serious 
injury or threat thereof and increased imports wa s analysed in the investigation on the basis of 
objective evidence, through the examination of f actors other than increased imports capable of 
causing injury to the domestic industry. 
Analysis of serious injury or threat thereof  
1. Production  
 2002 2003 2004 
Production (m2) 25,766,917.00 26,272,338.94 33,431,089.08 
 Domestic production of ceramic tiles remained  virtually stagnant between 2002 and 2003, 
rising slightly, by 1.96 per cent, from 25.77 to 26.27 million m2.  Production rose to 33.43 million m2 
in 2004, representing a 27.25 per cent increase over 2003. 
 In 2003, a year which saw a sharp increase in  imports, production capacity grew by nearly 
19 per cent as result of the implementation of a domestic producers' investment programme which 
anticipated a substantial improvement in dema nd in the light of performance forecasts for the 
construction and public works sector.  However, inst ead of keeping pace with the increase in capacity, 
as it should have done, production grew at a very low rate of 1.96 per cent. 
 Production gains in 2004 were generated by the installation of new capacity during the period 
2002-2004, which had been scheduled for purchase befo re the massive increase in imports.  The 2004 
production growth rate should be assessed in the light  of data relating to sales, inventories, sales 
prices and profit margins for that year. 
2. Production capacity and rate of capacity utilization 
 2002 2003 2004 
Capacity (thousand m2) 33,355 39,687 46,580 
Rate of utilization  80.62% 69.55% 74.77% 
 Trends in theoretical production capacity were positive throughout the period of the 
investigation, as reflected in a 39.65 per cent increase in 2004. 
 The capacity utilization rate fell by 11.07 percen tage points in 2003 and by 5.8 points in 2004 
compared with 2002.  This decline is attributable  to an increase in production capacity which occurred 
in 2003 and 2004 as a result of investments made dur ing that period for a total of more than  G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
 G/SG/N/10/MAR/2 
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 335 million dirhams.  However, this increase in production capacity remains out of step with the 
increase in production. 
Investment trends  
 2002 2003 2004 
Investments (DH) 125,431,800.00 232,546,307.00 102,757,399.00 
 The domestic industry anticipated an increase in demand and invested in new capacity, as is 
evidenced by the fact that inv estment grew by more than 85 per cent between 2002 and 2003.  
However, the capacity was under-utilized because produc tion did not reach the expected level owing 
to the substantial market share taken by imports. 
3. Domestic sales 
 2002 2003 2004 
Sales (m2) 24,284,458.21 24,069,764.28 30,433,074.19 
Sales (DH millions) 1,228.66 1,111.95 1,319.15 
Ex factory price (DH/m2) 50.5 48.9 43.3 
Market share of the domestic industry  73.61% 61.83% 63.03% 
 
 Domestic industry sales on the domestic market fell from 24.2 million m2  to 24 million m2 
between 2002 and 2003, a drop of 0.88 per cent, and recovered in 2004 with a growth rate of 26 per 
cent. 
 The gains recorded in 2004 are not evidence of  an effective recovery in the domestic industry 
following the poor results of 2003, since the increas e in sales volume was achieved only as a result of 
successive reductions in sales price introduced by th e domestic production units.  Moreover, trends in 
the value of sales testify to price undercutting since industry turnover increased by only 12 per cent between 2003 and 2004, as compared with a 26 per cent growth rate in terms of volume. 
 
 Negative margin sales were increased in res ponse to the increase in production capacity and 
production decided in order to meet growing demand requirements.  Also, the growth of imports in 
2003 obliged the domestic production units to mainta in their presence on the market, even at a loss, 
rather than allow inventories to accumulate and imports to capture more and more market share. 
4. Sales prices and production costs 
 Average (ex factory) sales prices fell by 14.25 per cent between 2002 and 2004, from 
50.4 DH/m2 for 2002 to 48.9 DH/m2 in 2003 and 43.3 DH/m2 in 2004. 
 It should be noted that this downward trend in ex factory prices is not in any way offset by 
proportional gains in production costs.  Rather, the lo wer prices were dictated by market constraints, 
the aim being to enable domestic producers to achieve  a minimum rate of return from the sale of their 
products so as to have sufficient liquid assets to meet  their working capital needs and to cope with the 
declining trend in sales prices for imported tiles, which exert competitive pressure on the prices of 
domestically produced tiles. G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
G/SG/N/10/MAR/2 G/SG/N/11/MAR/1 
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 Trends in average unit production costs 
 
 2002 2003 2004 
Production costs (DH/m2) 47.70 49 46.56 
 Average per unit production costs increased slightly in 2002/2003, from 47.70 to 48.94 
DH/m2, and then declined in 2004 by nearly  5 per cent to a level of 46.56 DH/m2.  The increase for 
2003 is explained by the reduced le vel of production during that period,  with the maintenance of fixed 
charges.  Despite the revival of production an d productivity in 2004, which undoubtedly served to 
reduce the unit cost of production, the drop in sal es prices was more that proportional, resulting in 
sales with negative unit margins. 
5. Profitability 
 2002 2003 2004 
Rate of return 1.61% 1.34% -7.99% 
Profits (DH) 17,159,812.64 13,827,465.74 -88,742,946.83 
 Expressed as a function of the ratio of profits to  turnover, the industry's profitability rate fell 
steadily from 2002, and entered negative territory in 2004 as a result of loss leader pricing during that 
year. 
 The competitive pressure exerted by imports  since 2003 has given rise to a decline in 
domestic industry profits because the domestic producti on units have been forced to sell at negative 
margins in order to maintain capacity utilization and sa les at levels sufficient to generate the resources 
needed to meet the working capital requirement s and other payment commitments of suppliers. 
 Indeed, the profit and loss status of the domestic industry reflects a downturn that began in 
2003 and produced negative results in 2004.  The losses  are fairly substantial and can be reduced in 
future years only by a satisfactory increase in sales prices. 
6. Inventories 
 2002 2003 2004 
Final inventory (m2) 8,199,372.37 10,550,198.88 12,859,258.82 
 End-of-year tile inventory levels increased substantially throughout the period of the 
investigation, from 8.2 million m2 in 2002 to 10.5 million m2 in 2003 and approximately 
13 million m2 at the end of 2004, i.e. an increase of 56.83 per cent. 
 This increase in inventories reflects the di fficulties encountered by the domestic industry in 
selling its output.  It entails additional costs wh ich make production units even less competitive. 
 It should be noted that, despite the implem entation by the domestic production units of a 
policy of lowering ex factory sales prices and loss le ading in 2004, inventories have not been reduced 
and have even continued to accumulate, creating l ogistical problems since factory storage space has 
been totally used up.  Faced with this situation,  the domestic industry halte d production for one month  G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
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 in the first quarter of 2005, in order to clear accumulated inventories and relieve the pressure on 
storage areas. 
 Since 2003, the massive stocks of increasingly low-priced imported tiles have competed with 
domestic output inasmuch as the cost price levels for imported tiles (after customs clearance) are on 
average fairly close to the ex factory prices of th e domestic industry.  This situation has led to the 
accumulation of inventories of finished products. 
7. Productivity 
 2002 2003 2004 
Productivity (m2/employee) 6,941.52 6,601.09 8,642.99 
Productivity (hours worked/m2) 0.36 0.38 0.29 
 Between 2002 and 2003, productivity declin ed by 5 per cent, from nearly 7,000 m2 to 
6,600 m2 per employee.  Expressed as the number of hours worked to manufacture one square metre 
of tiles, productivity also fell by 5.5 per cent during the period 2002/2003.  This decline in productivity is due to the stagnation of productio n in 2003 and the drop in the rate of capacity 
utilization, which coincided with the year in whic h there was the sharpest increase in imports.   
 Given the favourable trend in domestic dema nd, which enabled domestic producers to sell 
more in 2004 (albeit at lower prices) and thus to produce more than in 2003, productivity increased in 
2004 in terms of both square metres per employ ee and the number of hours worked to produce one 
square metre of tiles.  
 Nevertheless, the improvement in productivity achieved in 2004, which led to a reduction in 
the cost of production, was insufficient to absorb the income shortfall caused by the drop in sales 
prices.  
8. Employment 
 2002 2003 2004 
Employment (persons) 3,712 3,980 3,868 
No. of hours worked 9,221,731 9,897,744 9,788,283 
Wages (DH thousands) 209,197.51 227,949.18 237,089 
 The number of jobs in the domestic industry grew by 7.22 per cent between 2002 and 2003, 
and then recorded a slight decrease of the order of 2.81 per cent for the period 2003/2004.  A similar 
trend was observed with regard to the number of hours worked. 
 Additional industry recruitment in 2003 was accompanied by investment to increase 
production capacity in order to meet growing de mand.  However, given the difficult economic 
situation created by the massive influx of impor ts from 2003 onwards, the dom estic industry lowered 
its targets and reduced its staffing levels in 2004. 
 Thus, those domestic producers who had co mmitted themselves to acquiring fresh production 
capacity and creating new jobs, on the basis of the favourable outlook for demand, were forced to 
review their recruitment plans and even resorted to cutting jobs in order to squeeze fixed costs and G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
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 maintain the domestic product's presence in a difficult commercial situation characterized by a steady 
increase in low-priced imports of tiles. 
9. Conclusion concerning the determination of seri ous injury and threat of serious injury  
 The injury factors analysed in the investig ation demonstrate that the domestic ceramic tile 
industry has in fact sustained serious injury si nce 2003, the year which saw a massive and sudden 
increase in imports.  This massive increase in imports, accompanied by successive reductions in per unit import prices, caused serious disruptions in th e domestic market and a general deteriation in the 
situation of the domestic industry. 
 The Ministry of Foreign Trade considers that, in addition to the serious injury suffered, the 
domestic industry faces a threat of more serious injury  if appropriate measures are not taken, in view 
of the following circumstances: 
- Imports for 2005, though down from 2004, will remain fairly high compared with the 
years prior to 2003.  According to data collected by the import surveillance system 
established concurrently with the openi ng of the investigation, prior import 
declarations of ceramic tiles totalled 4,251,000 m
2 for the period from 24 January to 
22 June 2005.  With imports at this le vel, the domestic industry will have no 
possibility of restoring its previous level of performance and reducing the deficits incurred in the course of 2004, and this is a serious threat to its future. 
- Exporters, given the low level of exports to Morocco as a proportion of their total 
exports (2 per cent for Spain and 0.7 per cent for China), have a substantial export 
potential, enabling them to increase thei r shipments to Morocco under the same 
competitive conditions.  The domestic industr y cannot cope with even higher levels 
of imports and pursue a policy of sales at negative or very low margins, inadequate to secure a return on the investments undertaken .  This de facto situation constitutes a 
threat of serious injury for the domestic industry.  
Causal link analysis  
1. Effect of increased imports 
 The market share taken by imports increased fro m 17.54 per cent in 2002 to 26.54 per cent in 
2003 and 26.17 per cent in 2004, while the market share held by domestic producers fell from 73.61 per cent in 2002 to 61.83 per cent in 2003, and subsequently rose slightly to 63.03 per cent in 
2004. 
 For the period 2002–2004 the market share of imports increased by 49 per cent, compared 
with a simultaneous 14.4 per cent drop in the share of domestic output.  Moreover, the ratio of imports 
to domestic production increased from 22.46 per cent in 2002 to 39.33 per cent in 2003, before settling at 37.80 per cent in 2004.  These data demonstr ate that the increase in imports was achieved at 
the expense of domestic production. 
 The average per unit import price fell from 34.52 DH/m
2 in 2002 to 28 DH/m2  in 2003, and 
then to 22.85 DH/m2 in 2004.  During the same period, the average per unit selling price for domestic 
output on the domestic market fell from 50.09 DH/m2  in 2002 to 48.28 DH/m2 in 2003, and then to 
42.64 DH/m2 in 2004.  G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
 G/SG/N/10/MAR/2 
 G/SG/N/11/MAR/1 
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  The decline in the average import price created  marketing difficulties for domestic production 
and led to high rates of inventory accumulation, pr ompting producers to lower their sales prices to the 
detriment of their margins, so as to maintain their market share and dispose of inventories.  However, 
such a policy has highly adverse effects and cannot be  viable in the long term, since the sustainability 
of domestic production is seriously threaten ed by consistently low sales prices.  
 Thus, there is a correlation between the increase in low-priced imports and the serious injury 
sustained, and the continued entry of imports in quantities higher than those recorded prior to 2003 
constitutes a threat of serious injury to the domestic industry. 
 Moreover, the combination of massive imports  and low pricing continues to exert downward 
pressures on the sales price of domestic tiles and on the value of the domestic industry's sales in the domestic market.  This financially unsustainable s ituation could well, in the long run, drive national 
producers into bankruptcy. 
2. Effect of trends in consumption 
 From 2002 to 2003, consumption increased by 18 per cent, from 33 to 39 million m
2, before 
settling at over 48.28 million m2  in 2004, an annual increase of 24 per cent between 2003 and 2004. 
 The trends in domestic tile consumption ju stify the investments made by the domestic 
industry in order to increase capacity and ensure that the sector is largely insulated from problems 
with market outlets.  The outlook for demand is even more promising in view of the different 
programmes launched in the buildin g and public works (BTW) sector. 
 It is altogether reasonable to find that the ser ious injury sustained by the domestic industry 
between 2003 and 2004 and the threat of serious inju ry to which it is exposed are not due to the 
effects of inadequate demand.  On the contrary, th e upsurge in domestic c onsumption should have had 
a knock-on effect on the performan ce of the domestic tile industry. 
 In order to take advantage of the favourable ma rket situation and safeguard its market share, 
the domestic industry, under pressure from the massive competition of increasingly low-priced 
imports, sharply reduced its prices in 2004 to spur sales.  This  action did, it is true, result in increased 
sales of domestic products (with ne gative margins) together with an  increase in imports, but failed to 
restore the pre-2003 capacity utilization rate.  The result was negative profitability with an 
under-utilization of production capacity which was severely detrimental to the sustainability of the domestic industry. 
3. Effect of excess capacity  
 On the basis of confirmation of the prom ising demand outlook, the domestic industry was 
encouraged to invest in new production capacity, a nd this resulted in an increase in theoretical 
production capacity in 2003 and 2004. 
 This increase in capacity coincided with the massive influx of imports which captured more 
and more market share during 2003 and 2004.  This led to a drop in capacity utilization and high rates 
of inventory accumulation, despite the efforts deployed in 2004 to increase production and sales by substantially reducing sales prices. G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
G/SG/N/10/MAR/2 G/SG/N/11/MAR/1 
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  Thus, the under-utilization of production capac ity is largely explained by the increasing 
market share of imports rather than any disproporti onate increase in production capacity in relation to 
market needs. 
4. Effect of export results 
 2002 2003 2004 
Exports (m2) 10,913 28,448 89,692 
 The domestic ceramic tile industry is not an export sector.  Export volumes are negligible, 
although they have increased steadily since 2002 an d even grew eight-fold between 2002 and 2003.  
Some units faced with the disastrous situation on the domestic market, have begun to develop exports 
to offset their domestic losses. 
 Consequently, export performance cannot be considered a cause of serious injury or threat of 
serious injury to the domestic industry. 
5. Effect of competition between domestic producers 
 Internal competition between domestic producer s cannot be considered a factor of serious 
injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry.  Indeed, prior to 2003, the year which saw a massive 
influx of low-priced imports, domestic production un its coexisted in a competitive market without 
being injured by such competition.  Sales prices  reflected actual conditions of production and the 
constraints uniformly experienced by the di fferent units of the ceramic tile sector. 
 The fall in domestic prices is not linked to  competition between producers, since demand is 
rising at a much faster pace than domestic production and domestic industry sales.  In the absence of massive low-priced imports, the upsurge in demand s hould be more likely to result in higher prices. 
6. Effect of other factors 
 In the technological field, domestic producers have invested in the most up-to-date 
technologies used in the main tile producing countries .  Investments have also been made in product 
adjustment to new market require ments, certification of company conformity with ISO 9001 quality 
standards, rationalization of energy consumption, in stallation of liquid waste treatment facilities, even 
in some factories, staff training to improve qualifications etc. 
 The domestic tile industry is not handicapped by  technological backwardness which could be 
a factor of serious injury or threat thereof. 
 On the other hand, the relatively high cost of  energy makes the domestic ceramic tile sector 
less competitive at the international level.  This may be considered a factor of injury or threat of injury 
for the domestic industry. 
 It should be emphasized, however, that the high cost of energy acted as a drag on the 
performance of the ceramic tile industry well before  2003, without, however, causing any significant 
impairment to its standing.  Thus, the serious injury and threat of serious injury to which the industry 
has been exposed since 2003 are largely attributable  to the massive increase in imports.  The energy 
cost burden only makes it more difficult for the do mestic industry to cope with competition from 
massive imports, in particular through production co st savings that can be applied to sales prices.  G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
 G/SG/N/10/MAR/2 
 G/SG/N/11/MAR/1 
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 7. Conclusion concerning the causal link 
 After analysing the effects of known factors ot her than the massive increase in imports, which 
could cause injury to the domestic industry, Morocco has reached the conclusion that there is a real 
and significant causal link between increased imports of ceramic tiles and the serious injury caused to 
the domestic industry for products alike to or directly competitive with the imported products. 
2. Provide information on whether there is an absolute increase in imports or an increase 
in imports relative to domestic production 
 Morocco has sought to determine whether th e product subject to investigation was being 
imported in such increased quantities, absolute or  relative to domestic production, and under such 
conditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious in jury to the domestic industry for the product alike 
to or directly competitive with the imported pr oduct.  Data on imports for the period from 2002 to 
2004 are set out in the following table. 
 2002 2003 2004 
Imports (m2) 5,786,392 10,332,142 12,636,010 
Imports/production  22,46% 39.33% 37,80% 
Average import price (DH/m2) 34.52 28.00 22.85 
Market share of imports 17.54% 26.54% 26.17% 
1. Import trends 
 In absolute terms, imports rose from 5.7 million m2 in 2002 to 10.3 million m2 in 2003 (an 
increase of 78.5 per cent), and from th e 2003 level to 12.6 million m2 in 2004 (an increase of 
22.30 per cent).  Thus, over the period 2002-2004, imports recorded a significant increase of nearly 120 per cent. 
 Relative to domestic production, the level of  imports rose from 22.46 per cent in 2002 to 
39.33 per cent in 2003.  Their level remained relati vely unchanged, at 37.80 per cent, in 2004.  It 
should be noted that, prior to 2002, import levels were equivalent to roug hly 10 per cent of domestic 
production.  
 Tile imports by the domestic industry, includi ng commercial enterprises affiliated to the units 
of production, remained negligible in relation to  total imports.  In 2002, they stood at 428,000 m
2, and 
subsequently totalled 194,000 m2 in 2003 and 222,000 m2 in 2004, i.e. 1.75 per cent of total imports. 
2. Average import price 
 While imports were increasing, the average prices for imported tiles followed a downward 
curve.  They fell from 34.52 DH/m2 in 2002  to 28 DH/m2 in 2003, a drop of 18.90 per cent, and 
settled at 22.85 DH/m2 in 2004, a drop of 18.4 per cent. 
 This continuous decline in the prices of impor ted tiles prompted a recourse to imports which 
adversely affected domestic production, inasmuch as  importers/distributors were enabled to turn a 
higher profit on the sale of imported tiles compared with domestic tiles, given the difference between 
the sales price of imported tiles and their import price after customs clearance, which is more G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
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 advantageous to distributors than the difference be tween the ex-factory price of the domestic product 
and its sales price. 
 Those distributors who are also importers tend to prefer marketing imported tiles which give 
them a higher profit margin than domestic tiles.  Hen ce, the enthusiasm for imports at the expense of 
domestic production. 
3. Market share of imports 
 The domestic market share taken by imports, calculated in terms of the ratio of imports to 
domestic demand, rose from 17.54 per cent in 2002 to  26.54 in 2003, and stabilized at around 26 per 
cent in 2004. 
 This high rate of import penetra tion is attributable to the fact that the strong surge in domestic 
demand during the period of investigation was larg ely absorbed by imports to the detriment of 
domestic production.  Indeed, dom estic consumption of ceramic tiles grew from 33 million m
2 in 
2002 to 39 million m2 in 2003, an increase of 18 per cent.  Consumption continued to rise in 2004, 
reaching a level of 48.28 million m2, an increase of 26.17 per cent over the previous year. 
 Thus, in both absolute and relative terms,  2003 saw a sudden and sharp increase in import 
penetration, which was accentuated in 2004 since th ere was no return to the normal levels preceding 
2003. 
3. Provide a precise description of the product involved 
 The products for which there has been a massive increase in imports and which are alleged to 
have caused or threatened to cause serious injury to the domestic industry producing like products are 
glazed ceramic tiles coming under Harmonized System (HS) customs heading 6908, used for floor or wall coverings of variable shape a nd size (square, rectangul ar, hexagonal, truncated tiles, etc.).  These 
tiles may be manufactured by extrusion (extruded tiles) or dry pressing (pressed tiles) or by other 
processes. 
 The locally manufactured products subject to competition from imports are ceramic tiles 
similar to those that are imported, and they ex hibit the same characteristics as imported tiles. 
4. Provide a precise description of the proposed measure 
 Morocco plans to apply a definitive safeguard measure for a duration of four years on imports 
of ceramic tiles under Harmonized System customs head ing 6908.  The safeguard measure consists of 
the imposition of a specific additional import duty of  the order of 1.50 dirhams per net kilogram, 
supplementing the import duty already in force. 
 Pursuant to Article 7.4 of the Agreement on Safeguards, the planned safeguard measure will 
be phased out over the period of  its application in accordance with the following timetable: 
- 1.50 dirhams per net kilogram up to 31 August 2006; 
- 1.25 dirhams per net kilogram from 1 September 2006 to 31 August 2007; 
- 1.00 dirhams per net kilogram from 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008;  G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
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 - 0.75 dirhams per net kilogram from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2009; 
- zero additional duty from 1 September 2009. 
5. Provide the proposed date of introduction of the measure 
 The planned safeguard measure will enter into fo rce at the end of August or at the beginning 
of September 2005, following publication in the Official Bulletin of the Order by the Minister of Finance imposing the additional duty, issued subject to approval by the Minister of Foreign Trade and 
the Minister of Industry, Trade and Economic Renewal. 
6. Provide the expected duration of the measure 
 The measure is expected to have a duration of four years. 
7. For a measure with a duration of more than three years, provide the proposed date for 
the review (under Article 7.4) to be held not later than the mid-term of the measure, if 
such a date for the review has already been scheduled 
 The proposed date for the mid-term review of the planned measure is July/August 2008. 
8. If the expected duration is over one year, pr ovide the expected timetable for progressive 
liberalization of the measure 
 As stated under point 4, it is planned to liberalize the proposed measure gradually.  
Liberalization will be carried out in accordance with the timetable set forth under point 4. 
9. Provide information if the safe guard measure is being extended 
 Not applicable 
 Under Article 9.1, footnote 2, Morocco excludes the following developing country 
Members from the proposed measure because im ports from each of these countries account for 
less than 3 per cent of total Moroccan imports: 
Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina,  Armenia, Bangladesh, Ba rbados, Belize, Benin, 
Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, 
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile , Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, 
Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic Republic  of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican 
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Former Yugoslav Republic  of Macedonia, Gabon, 
Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala,  Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, 
Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kingdom of Bahrain, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Macao, Madagascar , Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, 
Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongo lia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, 
Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Papua  New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, 
Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solom on Islands, South Africa, Sr i Lanka, Sultanate of  G/SG/N/8/MAR/2 
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 Oman, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, 
Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  
________