Marruecos endurece su política comercial y exige un nuevo certificado para los productos importados

Morocco, the gateway to the vast African market, has tightened its trade policy with the launch of a new certificate for imported products. This measure, which came into force on the 1st February and will remain in force until the 19th April, is a new concern for Spanish exporters, who have a great commercial interest in the North African country. In order to guide the businessmen, the public organism ICEX has organized this Wednesday a conference in which the three companies that will be in charge of the certification in Spain have participated: Bureau Veritas, Applusfomento and TÜV Rheinland.  

The new standard will affect a wide range of products such as household appliances, electronics, chemicals, plastics, building materials, toys, oil and gas appliances and automotive components, which will need a certificate of conformity to enter the Moroccan market to ensure that they are authentic.  

"The process of verification of conformity is not new. Many countries in North Africa and Asia have put it in place to guarantee the quality of imports and protect consumers from products that do not comply with the regulations", said Diana Villarraga, executive director of Applus + Fomento Contrôle, one of the companies in charge of the certifications.  

Villaraga explained that the verification company will be responsible for carrying out a documentary review, a physical inspection, laboratory tests and the issue of the certificate or the validation of the certificate at destination. "80% of the products will be verified at origin and the rest in Morocco. The three certifying companies have homogenised the lists for the families of products", affirmed Villaraga who clarified that it will be necessary for the labelling to be done in French or Arabic for almost all the products, but that it is better for exporters to consult on a case-by-case basis.  

Paz Casanova, from the certifying agency Bureau Veritas, explained that her company has been working with verification programmes since 1984, mainly in the Middle East and Africa. Casanova explained succinctly the different ways they will make available to exporters so that they can adapt to the new legislation.  

There are three routes. The first, or A, is designed for any type of company and product. "After passing the physical inspection, an electronic certificate is issued", explained Casanova. With the second modality, known as route B, it will be available to those products that are already registered by the certifying body within the same category. "Each time there is a new consignment, the necessary document will be provided without the need for a previous documentary review”, she has assured. The third option is aimed at those manufacturers who have already obtained a license from Bureau Veritas and is oriented to regular exporters.  
 

The head of the Tüv Rhenland certification body has explained that the fees to be charged will be based on the total value of the shipment. In response to questions from the public present at the event, he clarified that they had not been told that a minimum value would be set in order to be able to export.  

During the event, he connected with the economic and commercial offices of Spain in Morocco. The heads of these institutions have encouraged entrepreneurs to contact them in case of doubt and have reassured exporters about this new legislation. This new requirement is an outsourcing of import controls carried out by Moroccan customs until now. The Alaouite kingdom is the sixth most important market for Spanish tiles. A large part of this industry is located in Castellón.  

In this sense, the President of the Comunidad Valenciana, Ximo Puig, travelled this weekend to Morocco with the aim of expanding the market here and ensuring that the tile from Castellón continues to be exported normally in spite of the new legislation. Manufacturers are nervous about this regulatory change demanded by Morocco, since the Quality Mark requirement that Saudi Arabia has implemented has closed the doors to Spanish tile since last September, as recognized by the industry's own leaders in a statement to the daily El Mundo.