There is also a 10 to 15 percent surtax on imports of most goods. In November 1989 Parliament abrogated a 1973 law requiring majority Moroccan ownership of firms in a wide range of industries, thus eliminating what had been a barrier to U.S. investment in Morocco. In 1993 the Moroccan government repealed a 1974 decree limiting foreign ownership in the petroleum refining and distribution sector, which allowed Mobil Oil to buy back the Moroccan government's 50 percent share of Mobil's Moroccan subsidiary in 1994. However a proposed law may limit foreign equity investment in insurance companies. These apply primarily to packaging, metallurgy and construction.
Sanitary regulations apply to virtually all food imports.
Meat must be slaughtered according to Islamic law. The Moroccan government actively encourages foreign investment. The Parliament passed a new investment code in 1995 which applies equally to foreign and Moroccan investors, except for the foreign exchange provisions which favor foreign investors. Unlike the previous sectoral investment codes, the advantages offered under the new code are to be granted automatically. There are no foreign investor performance requirements, although the new code provides income tax breaks for investments in certain regions, and in crafts and export industries.