The Spanish farmers' organization COAG will take legal action against importers of Moroccan tomatoes for what they claim is tax fraud. Andrés Góngora of Coag confirmed this during a webinar on the consequences of the European Court of Justice's ruling, saying it is declared that the free trade agreement between the EU and Morocco is illegal because it also includes the territories of Western Sahara.
"Research by Coag's technical services shows that Morocco has far exceeded the annual duty-free import limit of 285,000 tons of tomatoes, at a minimum price of 0.46 euros per kilo, which is included in that agreement. Since 2019, Morocco is said to have imported around 230,000 tons above this limit which is exempt from duties each year."
Source: COAG calculation based on Eurostat data (in tons).
"According to our calculations, the companies that import tomatoes from Morocco should have paid 71.7 million euros in import duties to Spain in the last five years for the surplus of tomatoes they introduced into the European market. This amounts to an average of around 14 million euros annually," Góngora said. "Our calculations are as benevolent as possible for Morocco, as the product coming from Western Sahara should enter the EU without preferential treatment, which would significantly increase these amounts."
Góngora stressed that the EU and the Spanish and French governments share responsibility. "Over the last ten years, COAG has repeatedly asked both the European Commission and the Ministries of Agriculture, Economy, and Finance for clarity on the import duties collected on Moroccan agricultural imports. So far, we have not received a single satisfactory answer," he said. "The European Commission shifts responsibility to the Member States, while the Spanish ministries pass the buck to each other. In the end, they remain silent and we get no answer."
Regarding the EU ruling that invalidates the trade agreement with Morocco, Góngora said: "If the agreement is illegal, the EU cannot allow it to continue for another year to please multinationals while producers continue to lose profitability and disappear."
COAG also demanded the Spanish Government to stand up in favor of agricultural producers, given that they are the most affected by the free trade agreement between the EU and Morocco, and to press the EU to cancel it.
For more information:
COAG
www.coag.org