عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Agreement Opens US Market to Morocco’s Raspberries

Agreement Opens US Market to Morocco’s Raspberries
TT
TT

Agreement Opens US Market to Morocco’s Raspberries

Agreement Opens US Market to Morocco’s Raspberries

Morocco and the United States have reached an agreement that opens for the first time the US market to Morocco’s raspberries.

The agreement was signed between Morocco’s National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA) and the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

It followed a series of negotiations between Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests and its US counterpart in this regard.

Cultivation of raspberries has witnessed a great expansion in Morocco in recent years, especially in the West Plain in northern Rabat, known for its fertile lands and the abundance of irrigation water.

Many farmers there have abandoned the cultivation of sugar cane and replaced it with raspberries that provide farmers with greater income.

The new agricultural activity also attracted important foreign investment, especially from Spain.

Morocco currently exports more than 140,000 tons of red fruits per year to more than 40 countries, including European Union member states.

ONSSA said there are 68 authorized establishments active in the red fruit sector in Morocco.

US authorities require that the fruit be packed in unit packets authorized by the ONSSA. They also require that all exports must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Office, attesting that the fruit has actually been produced and packed in accordance with the US requirements.

According to the signed agreement, ONSSA shall oversee the compliance with US standards, monitor, inspect, and grant licenses and certificates for conformity with these standards.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
TT
TT

ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her call for economic integration across Europe on Friday, arguing that intensifying global trade tensions and a growing technology gap with the United States create fresh urgency for action.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs on most if not all imports and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the US for decades.
"The geopolitical environment has also become less favorable, with growing threats to free trade from all corners of the world," Lagarde said in a speech, without directly referring to Trump.
"The urgency to integrate our capital markets has risen."
While Europe has made some progress, EU members tend to water down most proposals to protect vested national interests to the detriment of the bloc as a whole, Reuters quoted Lagarde as saying.
But this is taking hundreds of billions if not trillions of euros out of the economy as households are holding 11.5 trillion euros in cash and deposits, and much of this is not making its way to the firms that need the funding.
"If EU households were to align their deposit-to-financial assets ratio with that of US households, a stock of up to 8 trillion euros could be redirected into long-term, market-based investments – or a flow of around 350 billion euros annually," Lagarde said.
When the cash actually enters the capital market, it often stays within national borders or leaves for the US in hope of better returns, Lagarde added.
Europe therefore needs to reduce the cost of investing in capital markets and must make the regulatory regime easier for cash to flow to places where it is needed the most.
A solution might be to create an EU-wide regulatory regime on top of the 27 national rules and certain issuers could then opt into this framework.
"To bypass the cumbersome process of regulatory harmonization, we could envisage a 28th regime for issuers of securities," Lagarde said. "They would benefit from a unified corporate and securities law, facilitating cross-border placement, holding and settlement."
Still, that would not solve the problem that few innovative companies set up shop in Europe, partly due to the lack of funding. So Europe must make it easier for investment to flow into venture capital and for banks to fund startups, she said.