El Ministerio de Industria de Marruecos planea proteger el producto nacional frente a las importaciones

Morocco's Ministry of Industry plans to protect the national product from imports. The agency is working to outline a list of national products that will benefit from imports, according to the digital version of the newspaper Al-Ain News. The goal is for local companies to recover the production they had before the arrival of the pandemic.  

Companies that comply with the new guidelines will be granted a set of customs and tax incentives and will adopt strict technical standards that will be determined by the The Moroccan Standards Institute to monitor imports, especially for those that manufacture counterparts in Morocco.  

These new measures have been adopted with the resumption of business activities after a break of almost three months in production following the outbreak of coronavirus, which has caused significant economic losses. The aim is for local companies to be able to maintain the pace of production in this new phase and recover pre-pandemic manufacturing figures. During the worst moments of the coronavirus health crisis, the Moroccan business fabric was put at the service of the authorities and quickly transformed to manufacture masks and respirators.  

Tayeb Aais, an economic and financial expert, said that the Ministry of Industry has taken a new decision for local businesses and for the economic development of the country. Some voices have called for the state to work only with national suppliers and thus contribute to creating wealth, through jobs and taxes.  
 

"By importing materials from other countries, wealth is created there, and in return, Moroccans are left without work. Why don't we take advantage of the labour we have so that there is a real economic take-off," Aais questioned in statements collected by Al-Ain News. Morocco should also encourage the development of new industries in the country by encouraging Moroccan companies to manufacture new products. The state could support this transformation through funding.  

If this process goes well, the state will be able to meet its industrial needs and companies will be able to develop their industry, have a surplus and even export abroad. This would enable Morocco to maintain stable foreign currency liquidity and improve its imports.  

Article 156 of the Public Procurement Law states that 20% of the expected amount will be allocated to the amount of business, supplies and services for the benefit of national companies, while this percentage does not exceed 10% of the total amount of business at present. With regard to cooperatives and self-procurement, in accordance with the amendment to the Public Procurement Decree in 2019, the opportunity to benefit from public agreements was opened for the first time, as the percentage of small and medium enterprises increased from 20% to 30%.