Webinar: “EFTA – Morocco Free Trade Agreement: How can Swiss and Moroccan companies benefit?”

The Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Morocco (CCSM), in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland in Morocco, organised, on Tuesday 5 April 2022, a webinar on the theme “EFTA – Morocco Free Trade Agreement: How can Swiss and Moroccan companies benefit?” Objective: to offer the panellists a broader reading of the volume of bilateral trade, to provide exclusive information on the Switzerland – Morocco diplomatic agenda and to shed light on the regulatory aspects governing import – export operations. For this virtual meeting, the CCSM invited high-ranking personalities, namely Their Excellencies Mr Guillaume Scheurer and Mr Lahcen Azoulay, respectively Ambassador of Switzerland to Morocco and Ambassador of Morocco to Switzerland. Moderated by Ali Kairouani, professor of international economic law, guests from public bodies took part in this meeting. Bruno Hässig, head of the trade in goods unit at the European Free Trade Association, Michèle Glauser, representative of the international movement of goods unit at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and Chafik Essadouk, director of studies and international cooperation at the Customs and Indirect Taxes Administration (ADII), spoke during this webinar to explain the mechanisms for using the FTA.

Morocco, third trading partner

Swiss – Moroccan diplomatic relations are set fair! In his introduction, Mr Scheurer welcomed the weight of trade between the two countries, despite the devastating consequences of the health crisis. However, the reality of this trade is not in line with the expected objectives. The initiatives of economic players in terms of commercial prospecting lack dynamism. This is why the volume of bilateral trade, despite its significant proportions, is not aligned with the expectations of the FTA. “The volume of bilateral trade reached CHF 565 million in 2020, and CHF 600 million in 2019. These are relatively significant figures, but they nonetheless remain below the spirit of the Morocco – Switzerland Free Trade Agreement”, he stated from the outset. He added: “Prospecting missions must be designed by economic operators in both directions in order to explore the perfect complementarity of the two economies”.

Owing to its strategic position and its stability, Morocco is “Switzerland’s third most important trading partner in Africa ”, and is considered “its third commercial destination on the continent”. Like the EFTA – Morocco agreement, of which Switzerland is a member, the diplomacies of the two countries have made significant efforts, each in its own sphere, to “breathe new life into the already established trade relations” and “further promote trade between the two States”. A joint declaration was signed to this end on 3 December 2021 to increase Morocco – Switzerland cooperation visits. It provides for official visits in order to broaden cooperation in the fields of research, training and innovation.

Preferential access

Under this agreement, Moroccan exporters “benefit from preferential access to the Swiss market thanks to tariff reductions and, in some cases, exemptions from customs duties ”. Indeed, in view of the agreement signed between Morocco and Switzerland, preferential rates are applied to agricultural and industrial products, such as fruit and vegetables, oils, flowers, vehicles, machinery, textiles, etc. Trading partners have made significant savings. By way of indication, Swiss importers saved CHF 2.5 billion in 2018, with a utilisation rate of 73%, and exporters (partners) CHF 1.8 billion with a utilisation rate of 80%.

The benefits of the EFTA – Morocco Agreement do not only accrue to large companies. According to Mr Glauser, “small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) occupy a central place in the ranking of customs duty savings by company size in 2019”. They indeed achieved a gain of 1.1 billion Swiss francs, unlike large or intermediate-sized companies. Collecting information on trade movements is extremely important, which is why the Swiss government is considering launching the “FTA Monitor”, which will be set up to offer all partners “ an overview ” of import-export operations recorded under the provisions of the EFTA – Morocco agreement.

Viable economic activities

The customs administration has introduced “a new range of products that allow better access to the markets of both countries” to improve trade between Switzerland and Morocco. The public institution is also working together with stakeholders to introduce new procedures that would enable them to carry out viable economic activities free of procedural constraints. To this end, ADII plans to introduce an electronic procedure for certificates of origin in order to eliminate trips to customs offices and to prevent attempts to falsify certificates. In practice, a status will be assigned to the economic operators concerned so that they can themselves certify the originating status of their products, as stipulated in the clauses of the agreements concluded with EFTA, the EU, Turkey and the member countries of the Agadir Agreement. In addition, the approach of administrative cooperation in matters of origin will enable economic players to explore new markets, notably the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

To enrich the meeting, the speakers answered participants’ questions on technical and legal aspects and provided food for thought to identify avenues that would help to update provisions that have become obsolete.