Risk Watch November 11-16: Customs, strikes and border control

Welcome to this week’s edition of our Weekly Risk Watch, offering insights into economic indicators, political shifts, and security updates that could impact your business or daily life, all in one concise package.

Economy and Markets

• Fouzi Lekjaa, the Minister Delegate for Budget, explained that the 2025 Finance Bill sets a specific tariff on medicines to align prices with global standards, prevent monopolistic practices, and protect locally produced medicines, while allowing imports for those that Morocco cannot produce in the next decade, in response to a proposal for a 40% customs duty on imported medicines.
• Morocco’s General Directorate of Customs and Indirect Taxes has launched an investigation into inflated import declarations by newly established companies, primarily from Hong Kong and China, suspected of facilitating money laundering through double invoicing and inflated prices, with customs authorities coordinating with the Foreign Exchange Office to recover billions in revenue and enhance surveillance methods.
• Morocco plans to update its consumer protection law to address online transactions, responding to a surge in e-commerce activity, which reached MAD 22 billion in 2023, in order to protect consumers from fraud, misleading advertising, and online exploitation, with consumer protection associations and experts advocating for stronger regulations to combat increasing scams and restore trust in digital marketplaces.
• The U.S. Department of Commerce increased the tariff rate on Moroccan phosphate fertilizers from 14.21% to 16.81% after a second administrative review, a decision OCP disputes, claiming it is based on flawed methodologies; this new rate will apply retroactively to 2022 imports and potentially until 2026, with OCP planning to continue legal challenges and emphasizing the need for reliable, sustainable fertilizer suppliers to support U.S. agriculture.
• Morocco’s tax authorities have launched an investigation into a network of “phantom companies” exploiting tax exemptions, particularly for VAT on imported goods and equipment, with some companies diverting these items to the black market.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates reported that its 2025 budget in the draft Finance Bill amounts to MAD 4.476 billion, up 8.86% from last year, with an increase of MAD 224.47 million in personnel expenses to cover the expansion of the diplomatic and consular network and the creation of new positions.
• Casablanca’s municipal council has intensified efforts across its 16 districts to recover overdue taxes, aiming to boost revenues to 4.6 billion MAD by year’s end, comply with World Bank credit standards, and implement an integrated tax management system as part of a long-term fiscal strategy.
• Three ships carrying around 3,000 heads of cattle coming from Brazil and Spain destined for slaughter remained stranded in Casablanca Port since Thursday due to customs demands for tax and duty payments, exceeding the government quota for tax-exempt imports.
• The General Inspectorate of Territorial Administration has dispatched specialized inspection committees to the Casablanca-Settat and Marrakech-Safi regions to investigate an allegedly rigged bond requests which reportedly included exceptional clauses that unfairly excluded numerous companies from public tenders, prompting complaints from affected contractors.

Political Stability

• The Rabat Court of First Instance sentenced journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui, editor-in-chief of the “Badil” news website, to 18 months in prison and a fine of 1.5 million MAD, following a lawsuit filed by Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi, who accused him of broadcasting false claims to defame individuals.
• Morocco’s resilience score dropped by 7 points to 44, following the devastating earthquake in September 2023, which significantly reduced the population’s ability to withstand future shocks, with a sharp decline in individual and household resilience, as only 23% now believe they can protect themselves from disasters, down from 52% in 2021, although the country saw a surge in charitable donations after the earthquake.
• Amid healthcare sector reforms under the government’s social project, nurses, students, and graduates from nursing institutes united in a national protest on November 16 in front of Parliament, voicing strong opposition to privatization, cuts to public sector worker rights, and delays in training allowances, while demanding fair wages, sufficient job opportunities, and a halt to health sector privatization.
• The Court of Accounts has launched an extensive audit in urban and rural municipalities in the Casablanca-Settat region, focusing on the neglect of administrative police units, revealing issues like political misuse and abandonment of police functions in some areas, with ongoing investigations into other municipalities.
• A joint committee seized unlicensed traditional fishing boats in Sidi Rahal as part of efforts to prevent their use in illegal migration or drug trafficking, with the seized items placed in storage by order of the Berrechid prosecutor for further investigation.
• Opposition members of the Ksar Municipal Council have called on the Berrechid provincial governor to investigate alleged irregularities, including unsafe diesel storage, excessive spending on temporary workers, and the creation of unauthorized landfills, raising concerns about mismanagement and environmental risks.
• Fifth-year students at the National School of Engineers in Tetouan have been boycotting classes for a month, protesting alleged grading irregularities, lack of transparency, inadequate faculty guidance, and administrative neglect, with plans to escalate their complaints to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development.
• The Minister of Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, has instructed provincial governors to scrutinize the hiring processes of temporary workers in local councils, addressing irregularities such as prolonged employment without adhering to legal breaks, political exploitation, and unauthorized financial benefits, while emphasizing compliance with the 2009 guidelines for managing this category of workers.
• On Sunday, November 10, over 50 cases of food poisoning were reported at the regional hospital in Mediouna, prompting an investigation into a local fast-food establishment suspected of causing the incident.

Security

• A missile attack attributed to armed factions of the Polisario Front struck the town of Mahbes in the Moroccan Sahara on November 9, as civilians gathered to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the Green March, launching at least four projectiles near the ceremony site, though no casualties were reported.