Trade defense: «Contact us. We’ll do what’s necessary»
«Contact us. We’ll do what’s necessary», promises the Minister of Industry and Commerce to companies complaining about unfair foreign competition. On Friday February 23, 2024 in Casablanca, Ryad Mezzour was the guest of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Morocco to present his vision on «Trade protection: What safeguards are needed to defend national production?». Swiss Chamber president Christophe De Figueiredo commented by way of introduction: «This is a hot topic».
Trade defense encompasses the three mechanisms of Law No. 15-09 published in Arabic and French in the Official Gazette No. 5956 and No. 5956bis of June 30, 2011. These are anti-dumping, safeguard, or anti-subsidy measures.
«From 2012 to date, we have implemented 36 measures to remedy market distortions. This figure would be higher if provisional measures were included», explains Réda Amourak, Head of the Trade Defense Division.
To date, only anti-dumping and safeguard measures have been applied. «Anti-subsidy has never been used. It is very difficult for a company to take action, and its files are much more complex to put together. The anti-subsidy procedure is mainly initiated in Europe and North America», explains the Trade Defense and Regulation Department.
For the time being, the measures applied in Morocco have benefited several products: flat steel, concrete reinforcing bars, threading machines, PVC, plywood, wood panels… Canned tomatoes will soon join the list…
Major national companies, SNEP, and Cema Bois de l’Atlas in particular, are no longer hesitating to take their case to the line ministry to defend themselves against «the massive increase in imports, the threat of serious damage…»
Minister Ryad Mezzour qualifies his commercial defense message to companies. «We will not protect you for the sake of protecting you». Complainants must prove their case. Legitimacy, competitiveness, and investment go hand in hand.
But getting a trade defense shield is another matter altogether. Complaints are not always fully developed. «Some companies are unable to defend themselves even when they are victims… In Morocco, we lack lawyers specialized in commercial defense», points out Saïd Maghraoui Hassani, top manager of the department of commercial defense and regulation. He is not wrong insofar as it is European and American law firms that have pleaded the majority of cases, with, it is true, lawyers who are sometimes Moroccan nationals. This lack of expertise in international trade law is also felt in intellectual property law. «Specialized university courses are rare, and when they do exist, they are relatively expensive», says Daoud Salmouni-Zerhouni, a young intellectual property attorney.
Faiçal FAQUIHI
