EU-Morocco Agricultural Deal Reaffirms Preferential Trade Status for Southern Provinces

Rabat, October 2, 2025

Morocco and the European Union have successfully reached an agreement to amend their agricultural accord, reaffirming that preferential tariffs granted under their Association Agreement apply to products originating from Morocco’s Southern Provinces.

Speaking in Rabat on Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita confirmed that the amended agreement reflects “a spirit of partnership and compromise” between the two sides. He noted that while the official signing will take place soon in Brussels, the agreement will be provisionally applied once signed, pending internal ratification procedures.

Bourita stressed that the revised text aligns with Morocco’s national principles and remains consistent with the 2018 exchange of letters between Rabat and Brussels, which laid the groundwork for applying the Association Agreement to the Southern Provinces.

“The agreement confirms the application of preferential tariffs to the Southern Provinces as part of the Association Agreement,” Bourita stated. “Market access conditions for products from the North will equally apply to those from the Moroccan Sahara.”

Product Origin Labeling and Clarification

Among the changes are technical adjustments related to labeling, with agricultural goods from the Southern regions now explicitly marked with their regions of origin: Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Eddahab.

Bourita emphasized that this is not a political accord but a “sectoral, commercial, and operational” one. However, he acknowledged the broader significance of the deal.

“Thanks to the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Moroccan Sahara has become a zone of development,