Morocco, Turkey sign MoU on competition policies

Turkey and Morocco have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), vowing to establish an advanced partnership to promote cooperation in the field of competition policies and enforcement of competition laws in force in both countries, and to meet the challenges of “competition on markets.”

 

Morocco’s Competition Council President Driss Guerraoui and his Turkish counterpart Birol Kule signed the memorandum during a video-conference on Tuesday.

 

The MoU highlights the importance of international cooperation in the field of competition law enforcement, particularly in combating cross-border anti-competitive practices.

 

The MoU also aims to develop relations between the two bodies in all areas with a view to strengthening their institutional capacities, particularly in the context of the new post-Covid-19 global system, and to consolidate the place and role of international partnership of the Competition Council in the implementation of its strategy adopted since its reactivation on November 17, 2018.

 

The Moroccan and Turkish councils also agreed to exchange data on legislative developments in the field of competition law and economic cooperation.

Commenting on the signing of the MoU, Guerraoui said the agreement reflects the two councils’ readiness to establish a “strong and lasting partnership to meet the challenges in terms of competition on markets, institutional capacity building, and consolidation of the rule of law.”

 

He also reiterated the Council’s readiness to further strengthen cooperation with the Turkish Competition Authority in a global context marked by the emergence of a new generation of practices contrary to free and fair competition.

 

These practices stem “from the development of specific forms of economic concentration and commercial behaviors produced by the challenges surrounding the growing role of large global networks of companies in the digital economy, as well as the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on the purchasing power of many components of our societies,” Guerraoui said.

 

For his part, Küle said that international cooperation in the field of competition law and policies is becoming a necessity, especially in the context of globalization and the accelerated digitization process.

 

He also stressed the importance of promoting communication and exchange of experiences and knowledge with similar stakeholders and bodies to address the various challenges.

Morocco and Turkey were bound by a Free Trade Agreement that was signed in 2004 and entered into force in 2006.

 

However, the FTA proved to be disadvantageous for the Kingdom, especially for the textile sector. Rabat said that FTA with Ankara resulted in a $1.2 billion deficit for the Moroccan economy.

 

Last year, Morocco and Turkey agreed to amend their FTA agreement.

 

The amendments that entered into force this January aim to impose customs duties, for a five-year period, on certain Turkish industrial products listed in the agreement to reach 90% of the value of products from the most-favored-nation.