Understanding the Egypt-Morocco Trade Dispute

Updated 6/14/2025 9:00:00 AM

Despite geographic proximity, historic and cultural relations, and the existence of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) including the Agadir Agreement and the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), trade relations Egypt and Morocco have been tense over the past period. To overcome the wide trade deficit with Egypt, Morocco has imposed anti-dumping duties on specific Egyptian exports.

In this Factsheet, we will dig deep to understand the roots of this trade conflict and how the two countries are dealing with it.

Between 2020 and 2024, Morocco’s trade deficit with Egypt widened by 196%.
Egypt’s export to Morocco increased by 113% to $1.013 billion in 2024, from $476.4 million in 2020. On the other hand, Egypt’s imports from Morocco declined by 69% to $46 million from $149.2 million during the same period.
Recently, Morocco imposed an anti-dumping duty on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) imports from Egypt. Duties of up to 92.2% will be imposed on Egyptian PVC shipments for a four-month period. Egypt’s PVC exports to Morocco jumped by 161.4% to $30.75 million in 2024 from $11.76 million in 2020.
Morocco already has restrictions on Egyptian air conditioning units, claiming a lack of local components percentage issue. Imports have been halted for three years now. In 2024, Egypt’s exports of air conditioning units and their parts to Morocco totaled only $297,000.
Since 2022, Morocco has applied a 35% anti-dumping duty on Egyptian carpets to protect Moroccan producers from what was perceived as unfair competition. Consequently, Egypt’s carpet exports to Morocco fell from $2.3 million in 2022 to $1.4 million in 2024.
Egyptian food exports, the second-largest export category to Morocco, were also hit by this wave of restrictions. Starting in 2025, Moroccan authorities imposed a five-year 29.93% anti-dumping duty on canned tomatoes from Egypt. In 2024, Egypt’s canned tomatoes exports to Morocco reached $6.1 million.
In February 2025, Moroccan authorities detained 150 containers of Egyptian goods at Moroccan ports in an attempt to rebalance trade relations between both countries.
In response, the Egyptian government has set a plan to increase imports from Morocco to $600 million. This plan aims to address the trade imbalance between the two countries. Moreover, the government is exploring the possibility of importing Moroccan fish and securing fishing quotas for Egyptian vessels within Moroccan territorial waters.

By: Amina Hussein