Current tariff:
Apples
36.4%
Pears
20.8%
Cherries 20
%
Under the U.S.-Morocco FTA, Morocco's tariffs are scheduled to
be eliminated as follows:
| |
1/1/08 |
1/1/09 |
1/1/10 |
| Apples* |
36.4% |
31.2% |
26% |
| Pears |
20.8% |
10.4% |
0 |
| Cherries |
20% |
10% |
0 |
* The tariff on apples is scheduled to be reduced to 0% by
January 1, 2015. A tariff rate quota is also available for
U.S. apples. See section C. below.
The required markings for shipping cartons are:
- Product name and variety
- Net quantity in kilograms
- Production date (packing date) - date format should be (dd/mm/yy)
- Name and address of packer or importer
- Country of origin
B. Seasonal restrictions:
No information.
C. Licenses and quotas:
Under the U.S.-Morocco FTA, U.S. apples benefit from a
duty-free tariff rate quota in effect from February 1 through
May 31. Shipments will be eligible for this treatment on a
first-come, first-served basis. The quota volume increases
by approximately 4%/year.
| Year |
Quantity (metric tons) |
| 2008 |
2163 (approximately 113,300 42 lb. cartons) |
| 2009 |
2250 |
| 2010 |
2340 |
| 2011 |
2433 |
| 2012 |
2531 |
| 2013 |
2632 |
| 2014 |
2737 |
| 2015 and beyond |
unlimited |
D. Currency Issues:
Foreign currencies are readily available to importers upon
presentation of import documents. Although the use of
letters of credit is common, many importers prefer to pay
against documents after a few transaction. Advance
payments are prohibited by current exchange regulations.
E. Pest and plant disease restrictions:
A phytosanitary certificate is required.
Fruit must be free from a number of
pests and diseases of concern, including Fire blight Erwinia
amylovra), Brown rot (Monilinia fructicola), Apple
blotch (Phyllosticta sollitaria) and Apple maggot (Rhagoletis
pomonella).
A cold treatment is required for apple
maggot if fruit comes from areas where this pest is known to
occur. Details of the treatment must be listed on the PC.
40 days at 0 degrees C
or
90 days at 3.3 degrees C
From areas where apple maggot is not known
to occur there must be an Additional Declaration (AD) on the
PC that states, "The fruit was grown in a production area
of the USA in which, on the basis of the official annual
surveys, the apple maggot does not occur."
V. SUBSIDIES
No information.
VII. OTHER RESOURCE LINKS:
Governmental:
Private
VIII. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
On August 17, 2004, President Bush signed the
U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. The
FTA between the U.S. and Morocco entered into force on
January 1, 2006.
