Morocco: Government Allocates $1 Bn to Develop Regions

Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani. (Reuters)
Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani. (Reuters)
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Morocco: Government Allocates $1 Bn to Develop Regions

Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani. (Reuters)
Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani. (Reuters)

Moroccan regions will benefit from financial transfers of $1 billion by the year 2021 which will to improve the regional infrastructure and achieve equitable and balanced development, announced Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani.

He said that under the Finance Act of 2019, the government continues to support the regions by increasing their share of the income tax and company taxes from 4 to 5 percent.

Speaking at parliament, the PM explained that the government's vision is based on each region’s role in economic and social development, as well as reducing social and geographic disparities and ending the isolation of distant regions.

The government was keen on activating each of the Social Rehabilitation Fund and the Regions’ Solidarity Fund, which aim to cover the deficit in human development and basic infrastructure and equipment.

Othmani noted that the government will continue to exert all needed efforts to boost the regional tax collection department and enable it to develop better means of collecting taxes.

Regarding the basic infrastructure, the prime minister said that a series of programs are being implemented for the roads, railways, ports, airports, logistics, construction, public works and services.

He explained that in accordance with the instructions of King Mohammed VI, the government established a new approach to monitor the workshops and investment programs of regional and local development for better results on a regular and efficient basis.

He urged ministers to regularly visit the regions and follow up on projects.

Othmani stressed that the government is keen on directly communicating with all the regions, which will in turn put them in contact with voters.

Government officials have so far visited eight regions, most recently the Oued Ed-Dahab Lagouira, on Saturday.



Trump Vows New Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Trump Vows New Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

US President-elect Donald Trump vowed on Monday to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.

He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.

In a series of posts to his Truth Social account, Trump vowed to hit some of the United States' largest trading partners with duties on all goods entering the country.

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on ALL products coming into the United States,” he wrote, according to AFP.

He said the new tariffs would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

The President ignored the US, Mexico and Canada three-decade-old free trade agreement, now called the USMCA.

In another post, Trump said he would also be slapping China with a 10% tariff, “above any additional Tariffs,” in response to what he said was its failure to tackle fentanyl smuggling.

“No one will win a trade war,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China's embassy in the United States, told AFP by email, defending Beijing's efforts to curb fentanyl smuggling.

“China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature,” Liu added.

Canada said it was “essential” to US energy supplies, and insisted the relationship benefits American workers.

“We will of course continue to discuss these issues with the incoming administration,” said the statement from Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Tariffs are a key part of Trump's economic agenda, with the Republican vowing wide-ranging duties on allies and adversaries alike while he was on the campaign trail.

Many economists have warned that tariffs would hurt growth and push up inflation, since they are primarily paid by importers bringing the goods into the US, who often pass those costs on to consumers.

But those in Trump's inner circle have insisted that the tariffs are a useful bargaining chip for the US to push its trading partners to agree to more favorable terms, and to bring back manufacturing jobs from overseas.