Trade defence: Morocco steps up its game

For anyone paying even slight attention to the country’s trade policy, it is fairly easy to see that the Kingdom is firmly determined to step up its game by making full use of a battery of measures authorised by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the field of trade defence.

Indeed, in April 2026 alone, the Ministry of Industry and Trade made public—within a 24‑hour period via its website—no fewer than two key notices relating to trade defence.

Specifically, the first and more recent of the two, dated 22 April, concerns the opening of an anti‑dumping investigation against India into imports of ceramic tiles.

The second, published on 21 April, relates to the extension until 2029 of the surcharge on imports of hot‑rolled steel sheets originating from several countries.

Worth the effort

Another telling observation, which in some ways reflects the affirmation of the Kingdom’s trade‑defence policy: during the first four months of 2026—that is, from January to April—the Ministry of Industry and Trade published seven trade‑defence notices (anti‑dumping investigations, safeguard measures, etc.) on its website, compared with a total of 16 such notices throughout 2025.

In April 2026, the heightened activity of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the area of trade defence was both justified and timely for more than one reason.

Beyond the need to preserve the industrial fabric, the ministry’s stance may be seen, to a certain extent, as reflecting increased awareness of the centrality of the domestic market for the industrial base—largely made up of very small, small and medium‑sized enterprises (VSMEs/SMEs)—for which exporting remains, in most cases, an uncommon activity.

Moreover, the ministry’s firmness, reinforced by a series of publicly accessible notices, constitutes an appropriate response to rein in overly aggressive ambitions on the part of certain states that spare no effort in enabling their economic operators to dominate foreign markets—even if that means crossing the red lines set by WTO rules, which prohibit unfair competition.

The list of countries or economic blocs known for their extensive use—like Morocco, and rightly so—of the three trade‑defence instruments (TDIs) is long and includes major players in multilateral trade (the EU, the United States, Brazil, India, China, etc.).

At this stage, it is worth noting that since the beginning of this year, Morocco’s trade‑defence notices issued by the supervisory authority have concerned several products (rice, rolled steel sheets, ceramic tiles, wood panels, carpets and textile floor coverings).

A particular focus

Another striking fact: from January to April 2026, two out of the four notices relating to anti‑dumping measures concerned operators from Egypt (textiles and steel), a country that nevertheless has a free trade agreement (FTA) with Morocco in force since April 1999.

In 2025, economic operators from this Arab partner country were over‑represented in the anti‑dumping notices published by the Ministry of Industry, with a notable diversity of affected products (blockboard plywood, PVC, galvanised wire, rolled steel sheets, etc.).

By way of reminder, anti‑dumping measures, countervailing (anti‑subsidy) measures and safeguard measures constitute the three trade‑defence instruments authorised under the multilateral trading system.

In this case, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is using anti‑dumping and countervailing measures with the clear objective of neutralising unfair trade practices whenever imports of goods and products are carried out under conditions liable to warrant action under international trade rules.

Safeguard instruments, for their part, are intended in principle to give a given domestic industry time to restructure and adapt to a substantial increase in imports.

Unlike anti‑dumping and countervailing measures—which target specific countries for periods of up to five years, renewable under certain conditions—safeguard measures are meant to apply erga omnes (to all).

Three of the seven trade‑defence notices published since the beginning of the year concern rolled steel sheets. This factual reality is far from insignificant, especially given that rolled steel sheets are essential inputs for several key sectors (construction and public works, automotive, shipbuilding and rail construction, machinery and equipment manufacturing, and the energy sector).

Moreover, Morocco is home to a highly strategic national player in terms of industrial sovereignty: Maghreb Steel.

This leading national producer of rolled steel sheets in Morocco (hot‑rolled, cold‑rolled, galvanised and pre‑painted) is called upon to rise to the challenge of standing its ground against fierce competition from global giants (ArcelorMittal, China Baowu Steel Group, Nippon Steel Corporation, etc.) as well as regional players, notably from Turkey.

By way of illustration, the industrial group headquartered in Tit Mellil (Casablanca), which has committed to a greener production pathway, generated turnover of MAD 6.2 billion in 2025. This year‑on‑year growth of 14% was driven by increased sales volumes on the domestic market.

In plain terms, these figures legitimately suggest that the surcharge on imports of hot‑rolled steel sheets—applied in recent years to products from several countries—is delivering results. This trade‑defence measure has, to some extent, injected renewed momentum into the national industry.

Along the same lines, it is worth recalling that the Ministry of Industry and Trade deemed it necessary, through Notice No. DDC/06/2026 (dated 21 April), to maintain for three years (until 2029) the safeguard measure applied to imports of hot‑rolled steel sheets, in order to remedy and prevent serious injury to the domestic production sector.

Specifically, the safeguard measure envisaged by the authority consists of an additional ad valorem duty of 19%, accompanied by a liberalisation schedule.

Ultimately, backed by trade‑defence measures, the domestic hot‑rolled steel production sector is implementing the actions of its adjustment plan aimed at enhancing its competitiveness.

Anti‑dumping duty: up to 84.39% for Egyptian exporters

According to Notice No. DDC/05/2026 of 10 April concerning imports of cold‑rolled steel sheets originating from Egypt, the domestic production sector is exposed to a serious threat of material injury and finds itself in a situation of particular vulnerability vis‑à‑vis dumped imports from Egypt.

As a result, the supervisory authority is considering the imposition of a definitive anti‑dumping duty of 60.40% on the Kandil Steel Group (Egypt) and 84.39% on other Egyptian producers and/or exporters for their exports of cold‑rolled steel sheets.