Morocco and Turkey have agreed to review a free trade agreement signed in 2004 to ensure more balanced trade relations between the two countries, Agence Marocaine De Presse (MAP) reported on Wednesday.
Morocco has been threatening to walk out of the agreement since last year over complaints that while Turkish products have flooded into Moroccan markets as a result of the deal, Ankara continued to impose rigid obstacles before Turkey-bound Moroccan products.
The Moroccan Minister of Industry, Trade and Green and Digital Economy, Moulay Hafid El-Alamy, said this week before the official visit of Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan to Rabat on Wednesday that his country could not keep the agreement with Turkey.
Ankara and Rabat agreed to review the terms of their current free trade agreement for “more balanced, more important and good quality” trade, according to the joint statement issued after the countries’ delegations met that day.
Turkish exports to Morocco grew 16 percent during 2018 to reach $2.3 billion, while the volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to $3 billion last year.
