Maghreb Commissions for etc. It
decided to take the
necessary measuresto achieve the following issues.
1. Exchange of information and co-ordination between the Maghribi organisations in Maritime Transport.
2. Freight and chartering of ships.
3. Joint exploitation of maritime lines.
4. Simplification of administrative formalities at ports.
5. Training the cadres.
6. Creation of one Maghribi Navigation Company.
OELSXTaXiaai
7. Harmonizations of the position of the Maghreb countries
within the international organizations.
After these decisions had been taken, this Committee has not
achieved any progress in its domains. Thus we find the Maghribi
Committee for transports and communications in its meeting in Tunis on the 3rd of April of
1968,
complaining of the work of this Committee,and urging it to meet as soon as possible to take the necessary practi¬
cal steps to implement those decisions taken in its first and only meeting in October 1966
(ï).
ROAD TRANSPORT s
The Maghreb Committee for Road Transport held only one meeting in
which the following resolutions were taken %
1. Validity of the national driving licences on the whole Maghreb territory.
(ï)
Permanent Consultative Committee of the Maghreb, the MaghrebCommittee for transport, Tunis April 3rd,
1968. (in Arabic).
0A£S\?SYí"3ÍII
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2, Harmonization of systems of Roads regulations.
3. Simplification of the formalities of passing across the "borders,,
The only measure put into effect after these resolutions is the
decision taken "by the government of Algeria which makes the driving
licence of the other three countries of the Maghreb valid on its terri¬
tory.
Here again we find the Maghreb Committee for Transport and Communi¬
cations criticising the slow motion of this Committee and asking it
to meet as soon as possible to take the necessary measures to apply
the resolutions taken in its first and only meeting.
It advised the Committee for Road Transport to give priority to study the difficulties facing road transport, concerning passengers,
goods, private and public activities.
(ï)
BORDERS FORMALITIES ;
In its meeting in Tunis on the 3rd of February
1968,
the MaghrebCommittee of Transport and Communications, noticed that there has been
no progress in facilitating the formalities hindering passengers and goods across the national borders, and recommending a meeting of a special committee comprising officials from the Customs, Police and Transport departments of the member countries to find solutions for the current difficulties
(2).
C. TRADE ARRAITGEMEIITS
In this field, as in many other fields - as we have already seen -we find recommendations, either for the trade relations between the Maghreb countries as a whole, or concerning individual products.
(:i )
op. cit.(2)
Op.cit. See also, Commission Maghrebine Des .Transports et Communica¬tions, Procès Verbal De la Reunion Tenue le 3 Avril
1968
à Tunis;See also, Rapport Sur la Coordination Maghrebine dans le Domaine
Des Transports et Communications; and the ECA, Economie Cooperation
in North Africa op.cit.
We will quote
(ï)
here the recommendations given "bythe Maghreb
Commission for trade relations %
1. The general recommendations s
The establishment of a permanent Maghreb trade agency, which
would be responsible for ;
(a)
Harmonizing and coordinating trade relations in the Maghreb with a view to intensifying trade between thefour countries and to allowing free trade in certain
number of products.
(b)
Coordination of trade relations between the Arab Maghreband the other countries.
(c)
Supervision and coordination of the activities of joint specialized agencies per product.Citrus Fruit s
1. The Commission instructs a Committee of Experts to decide on technical executive action to be taken for the 1965-66 season after
the withdrawal of Spain, from the Comité des Argumes de la Zone
Franc
(CAZF).
2. It recommends the establishment of a.Standing Maghreb Committee
on citrus to undertake the following functions ï
(a)
To study the procedures for developing and extending joint publicity in the main existing and potentialconsumer markets 5
(b)
To examine questions relative to standardization of packages, to make an inventory of needs and possibili¬ties of production in order to ensure planned supply
with priority for Maghreb supplies.
(1)
E.C.A. Economic cooperation in Worth Africa,E/CN.1a/WA/ECOP.3
op.cit. p.6 et seq.
IDEP/ET/2340
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(c)
To exchange information "between the Maghreb countries concerning sales contracts and. to fix the limits of prices per variety and per period within clearing agree¬ment 1
(d)
To bring together the various marketing bodies with a view to closer coordination in transport, transit and marketing.Draws the attention to the problems of processing citrus fruits.
The future of the Comité des Agrumes de la Zone Franc
(CAZF)
should be considered in order to establish a policy for
the Maghreb.
Wines ;
The establishment of a Standing Committee on wines with the following term of reference s
(a)
To work out a joint export policy towards countriesother than those in the French Customs territory
(F.C.T).
For the countries that grant non-FCT tariff and quota pre¬
ferences to the Maghreb the Committee will fix lower limit prices
(free
duty, frontier of country ofdestination)
and quotas based on the average figures over the last threeyears for each of the countries.
(b)
To organize meetings of experts in agriculture and legisla¬tion on wine-growing and wine making in order to draw up
a joint policy for the production and diversification of
these products, taking into account the possibilities of
outlets in the Maghreb.
(c)
To study the prospects of greater diversification of ex¬ternal markets and instructing intra-Maghreb missions to prospect these markets both for wines, grape-juice and
table grapes.
(d)
A study should be made to find economic use of vine-yard by-products.e)
To coordinate the Maghreb positions within the Interna¬tional Wine Office and any other international organisa¬
tions.
f)
The commission recommends the establishment of a centre for study and research on vines and wines.Olive Oil ;
A Committee of experts was recommended to do the followings
1. To prepare a balance sheet at the beginning of each season covering
the four countries' resources in olive oil, and their needs for
oils
(olive
oil and vegetableoil)
and thus to calculate the ex¬portable
surplus
for the whole of the Arab Maghreb.2. To find new outlets and to coordinate experts with a view to their development.
3. To collect all useful information concerning the production of
olive oil, oils from seed
(present
andprospects)
with a view to harmonising oil production policy in the four countries.Other Products s
The Commission proposed a study for the coordinated marketing of
the following products ;
Cork,
food preserves, cereal andderiviatives,
Dates and Vegetables hair.
i
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II - PROPOSED CONVENTION FOR MAGHREB ECONOMIC CO-OPBRaTIOIT
The convention is divided, into eight sections :
I. The First section lays down the main principles of co-opera¬
tion between the Maghreb countries. It states that pending the
establishment of the maghreb economic unity, the member countries
would execute a programme for economic co-operation based on the following points s
(a)
Linear reduction of barriers against inter-maghrebtrade in tariff and quantitative domains on industrial products.
(b)
Procedures and measures stimulating industrial co¬operation.
(c)
Agricultural programme for the increase of trade in agricultural products and the development of co-opera¬tion.
(d)
Special measures to allow every member country to share equally in the advantages resulting from the applicationof this present accord.
(e)
Arrangements concerning the co-operation in the domainof external payments and financing.
(f)
Measures to he taken to prepare the way for the following step in the process of the Maghreb economic co-operation,(g)
The establishment of a council and other organs necessary for the functioning of the convention.II. Reduction of Trade Barriers.
(1)
The accord, it seems, followed the conventional approach
to integration i.e. the overall approach. Hence the overall gradual reduction of tariffs and of quantitative restrictions occupies a considerable part of the treaty, and is exposed in
detail.
(ï)
Articles 3-23.A. In the domain of the Customs..:charges the treaty stipulates that six months after it is put into force, the member countries reduce
the customs tariffs and all other charges by 5&f< on all the pro¬
ducts originating in the maghreb and imported from the other members,
with the exception of agricultural products,
(ï)
some industrial products,(2)
and some imports concerning Libya.(.3)
The member countries are authorised to increase the preferential tariffs against the products imported from the other member countrie within limits in several cases.
(4)
One important case is that, toprotect its new industries, a member country can increase the custom
tariffs on imported competing products, originating the other member countries, provided that the increase will not exceed 50p of the value-added, obtained by the transformation process in the im¬
porting country, and provided that after five years of the increase
the tariffs should be reduced to the level of the highest tariff applied by the other members on similar products originating in the maghreb. This last condition is not to be applied if the new in¬
dustry is established in a region less developed than the other regions of the
country.(5)
Other cases deal with the total revision of the tariffs, or the replacement of the quantitative restrictions by tariffs,
(6)
alsoif the tariffs of a member country are already low before the execu¬
tion of the agreement
etc.(7)
(a)
The problem of origin ; The treaty assigned the preferentialtariffs to products which originated in the Maghreb and which transported directly from the territory of a member country to the territory of the other member.
(ï)
Article 30(2)
Article 3(c) (3)
Article38 (4)
Article 4 a & b(5)
Article <c(6)
Article 4d(7)
See other exceptions in article 5°IDEP/ET/2340
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