US Tariff Policy May Bring New Opportunities To Motorcycle Textile Industry

According to the Moroccan LE360 news network, in the face of the new tariff policy of the United States, the Moroccan textile industry is facing challenges, but relevant export enterprises still need to adjust their price strategies to maintain competitiveness. However, the industry generally believes that this may be a new opportunity for the development of motorcycle textile industry and enhance its position in the global industrial chain.

The Moroccan Textile and Garment Industry Federation (Amith) said that the scale of Moroccan textile exports to the United States is limited, and the development is constrained by three main factors. One is the logistics bottleneck, and there are almost no regular air or sea routes between Morocco and the United States; Second, the textile enterprises in Morocco are too small to deal with large orders of more than 300000 pieces in the United States; The third is the "rules of origin" in the US Morocco Free Trade Agreement, which requires that the raw materials used for products must come from Morocco or the United States, while 87% of Morocco's textile industry is concentrated in garment processing, highly dependent on Asian and European raw materials. However, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) introduced by the United States in 2000 will expire on September 30, 2025. The United States may terminate its preferential policies for countries south of the Sahara, which will frustrate the textile industry of South Africa, Lesotho and other countries, and bring potential development space for motorcycle industry.

Amith called on the government, especially the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and enterprises to join hands to meet the challenges, and has hired American lobby groups to support its later negotiations. They put forward two major propositions: First, relax the rules of origin and allow some use of Asian raw materials; The second is to set up a "qualified industrial zone" (ZIQ) in Western Sahara, Morocco. Referring to the Egyptian and Jordanian models, products produced in the qualified industrial zone can be exported to the United States with special tariff treatment as long as some of them are produced in Israel or Palestine. At the same time, it will build an export platform connecting West Africa and the United States in combination with the new port of Dahla. If the initiative is promoted, it is expected to create about 100000 jobs.

(Source: website of Ministry of Commerce)