Enhancing Public Availability of Customs Information

In the Islamic Countries

Figure 36: Trade to GDP ratio in Morocco, 2010-2017.

Source: World Development Indicators.

Regional integration is a particularly important trade policy issue for Morocco. It has been active

in signing free trade agreements (FTAs) with major partner markets, including both the EU and

the USA. According to the government, the agreement with the USA marked a major turning

point in the country’s approach to managing the information costs associated with trade

transactions, as it contains a standalone chapter on transparency. That chapter contains the

kernel of many of the types of obligations subsequently included in the TFA, such as prior

publication of new rules and regulations, and provision of an opportunity to comment. The effect

of these obligations was salutary. The agreement was signed in 2004 and entered into force in

2006. That event provided the impetus to increasing trade-related transparency, including

through the promotion of public availability of information, and it was only reinforced by a

renewed governmental commitment to transparency in general following the events of 2011.

Information Availability: General State of Play

Implementation of WTO TFA, and Comparison with Best Practice

Unlike the other case study countries, Morocco has not yet ratified the TFA. However, the

government was at pains to point out that this position is not due to a lack of support for the

content of the agreement, but rather a particular set of national circumstances that required

negotiations and steady work before ratification would be possible.

Interestingly, though, despite not having ratified the TFA, Morocco has already submitted its

Category A, B, and C notifications. Given that many countries are still only part way through this

process, Morocco’s solid start indicates that the government is indeed committed to moving

forward on the TFA when domestic circumstances allow.

Table 3 shows that Morocco has included the entirety of the first four articles of the TFA in its

Category A notification. In essence, this approach to notification is a declaration by the

government that they believe they are already fully in compliance with the provisions of the TFA

that deal most closely with public availability of trade-related information. This pattern of

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Percent

Year