The Safeguards Committee of the World Trade Organization (WTO) published a notification from Rabat, announcing the Moroccan decision to put an end to the safeguard measures applied on imports of cold-rolled sheets and clad or coated sheets. This new modality, in force since December 31, 2024, comes after a decade of effective application.
The cold-rolled sheets concerned are classified under the following Moroccan tariff headings: “7209 (excluding subheadings 7209.16.00.20, 7209.17.00.20, 7209.18.00.20, 7209.26.00.20, 7209.27.00.20 and 7209.28.00.20), 7211 (excluding subheadings 7211.13, 7211.14, 7211.19, 7211.23.00.10, 7211.23.00.40, 7211.29.00.20 and 7211.29.00.50), 7225.50.10.00, 7225.50.90.00 and 7226 (excluding subheadings 7226.11.00 and 7226.19.00). As for clad or coated sheets, they fall under tariff headings 7210 (excluding subheadings 7210.11, 7210.12, 7210.30.00, 7210.50, 7210.90.21.00, 7210.90.22.00, 7210.90.23.00 and 7210.90.29.91), 7212 (excluding subheadings 7212.10, 7212.20.00, 7212.40.20.00, 7212.40.39.10, 7212.50.20.00, 7212.50.63.00 and 7212.50.64.00), 7225 (excluding subheadings 7225.11.00, 7225.19.00, 7225.30, 7225.40 and 7225.91) and 7226 (excluding subheadings 7226.20.00.11, 7226.20.00.21, 7226.20.00.51, 7226.20.00.52, 7226.20.00.59, 7226.91.00 and 7226.99.10.00)”a-t-on noté.
The first safeguard measures were introduced following an investigation opened on June 11, 2014. These provisions, which concern imports of cold-rolled sheets and coated sheets, were officially put in place on August 29, 2015, with a initial application period until December 31, 2018.
Since this date, Morocco has carried out two reviews as revisions as they approach their expiry (“sunset reviews”), respectively on January 11, 2019 and December 15, 2021. The positive conclusions of these investigations made it possible to extend the duration of application of the rights. With the end of these measures, Morocco marks a decisive step in the liberalization of imports of these strategic products, in a global context marked by the evolution of international trade rules.
