Granada summit leads to a trade agreement between EU and Morocco

The objective of this trade agreement is to begin negotiations for full liberalisation of both markets

Representatives of the EU and Morocco met in Granada (Spain) last March to initiate an agreement that will accelerate the liberalisation of trade between both parties.

The agreement will liberalise 98% of Moroccan agro-food industrial exports and will eliminate 55% of the import tariffs on Moroccan exports to the EU, according to the Global Arab Network news and information service. It will also liberalise 45% of EU produce exported to Morocco.

Special schedule for tomato imports
However, some agricultural products, such as tomatoes, will adhere to a special seasonal schedule for import into the EU, due to their sensitive status as products that compete with European production. In spite of this, it is planned that the volume of tomatoes permitted for export will gradually increase.

Progress in EU-Morocco relations
The agreement still has to be approved by the European Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. Although it has not met with unanimous support, it represents a further step forward in EU-Morocco relations, which were initiated in 2000 with the Association Agreement and strengthened in 2005 and 2008 with the adoption of the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan and the document on the advanced status of Morocco.
The objective of this trade agreement is to begin negotiations for full liberalisation of both markets. In this respect, there are plans to launch a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) with a view to gradually integrating both parties.

Reactions to the agreement
The agreement has already prompted reactions in the fruit and vegetable sector on both sides.
The French, Italian and Spanish Committee has expressed concern about the agreement and has lobbied the European Parliament not to approve it. According to ASAJA, the Young Farmers’ Association, it is essential for Spanish, French and Italian growers that customs controls are tightened, in order to ensure that the corresponding duties are paid on produce entering the UE, which the Association says are currently being avoided.
Moreover, ASAJA demands a reform of EU entry prices in order to avoid import fraud.
In this respect, according to Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca, General Secretary of ASAJA, the agreement could be negative for the Murcian agricultural sector and its companies.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Ouayach, the President of Morocco’s Farmers Confederation (Comader), expressed his satisfaction at the agreement, telling Global Arab Network that “Morocco has succeeded in gaining benefits for its farm sector.”
On the other hand, Younes Zrikem, President of the Moroccan Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers and Exporters (Apefel), told the same publication that “the agreement does not constitute a breakthrough, because it has maintained the quota restriction system for farm products.” These farm products include tomatoes, Morocco’s principal F&V export.

S&G Brassicas Today – July 2010