Morocco and the European Union have reached an agreement to amend their agricultural trade deal by introducing origin labeling, allowing products from Western Sahara to receive the same preferential tariffs as those from Morocco, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said on Thursday.
According to Reuters, the move comes after the European Court of Justice ruled in October 2024 that the existing trade agreement was invalid because it covered goods from Western Sahara, a disputed territory.
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Western Sahara has long been at the center of a territorial conflict between Morocco, which controls the region, and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, which demands independence.
Bourita told state news agency MAP that the new agreement will be signed shortly in Brussels. He explained that the amendment introduces technical changes related to consumer information on the origin of products.
Goods from Western Sahara will be labeled as “Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra” and “Dakhla-Oued Eddahab,” reflecting Morocco’s administrative divisions in the territory.
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Image Credit: Reuters
