World News – CA – Turkish exporters face further customs delays in Morocco and Algeria

Turkish companies say they face further delays in exporting textiles and clothing to countries in North Africa Morocco, in particular, has amended a trade deal increasing tariffs on clothing up to 90%

Exporters have complained about unusual demands for paperwork and delays up to five times the standard for customs clearance in Morocco and Algeria, three groups told Reuters

The complaints come as textile and clothing manufacturers in North Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe were poised to take advantage of the disruption of global supply chains following the pandemic coronavirus

Big European brands are looking for alternative production hubs, like Turkey and Morocco, which are located closer than the Chinese manufacturing giant

The Moroccan government, fearing that a 2004 free trade agreement with Turkey had harmed its manufacturers and retailers, said last week that talks started with Ankara in January resulted in an amendment in August

A source from the Ministry of Commerce said the amendment allowed Morocco to increase tariffs by up to 90% on 1,200 products, including textiles and clothing, for five years

Trade between the two countries has grown steadily over the past two years, reaching nearly $ 2.58 billion in 2017 and rising to around $ 2.7 billion in 2018, before reaching $ 3 billion in 2019, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat)

Turkey exported $ 2.31 billion in goods to Morocco last year, as its imports amounted to $ 690 million, creating a trade deficit for Rabat and pushing some Moroccan lawmakers and industry officials to complain about unfair competition

Gıyasettin Eyyüpkoca, head of the Turkish Association of Industry and Laleli Business, said Morocco has long imposed the highest legal duties on Turkish imports in order to support domestic production

But in recent months, exporters have faced « unofficial and undocumented » delays at the border, he said « It even takes 10 to 12 days to clear our goods, instead of the usual two days »

Eyyüpkoca said concern over a « firmer stance » from North African countries had intensified given rising trade barriers in the Gulf

« North African countries try to keep Turkey out of the game as European brands reorient themselves away from China after pandemic, » said Hadi Karasu, head of the Turkish Garment Manufacturers Association

« Especially in the past two months Turkish brands and products made in Turkey have faced obstacles in North African customs and the latest functions in Morocco are part of this strategy, » he said. he declared

Turkey exported textiles worth $ 18 billion last year, or 10% of its total exports, industry group says Total exports to Algeria amounted to $ 1 billion

Şeref Fayat, head of the clothing unit of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), said the further delays in Morocco and Algeria were unrelated to tariffs and often involved requests for documents that were not needed in the past

Fayat said his group would raise the issue with Turkey’s Commerce Ministry to try to break the bottleneck

Export, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria