Moroccan Budget Deficit Amounts to $2.8Bn in June

Moroccan Budget Deficit Amounts to $2.8Bn in June
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Moroccan Budget Deficit Amounts to $2.8Bn in June

Moroccan Budget Deficit Amounts to $2.8Bn in June

Data released by Morocco’s General Treasury (TGR) has revealed a budget deficit of 28.8 billion dirhams ($2.8 billion) in late June, compared to a deficit of 22.8 billion dirhams ($2.2 billion) in 2019.

In its monthly public finance statistics bulletin in June, the Treasury said this deficit is due to a positive balance of 8.3 billion dirhams ($830 million), released by the special accounts of the Treasury (CST) and the independently managed state services.

Based on the revenue collected and outgoing expenditures, the TGR pointed out that the budget implementation also revealed a negative balance of 805 million dirhams ($80.5 million), against a positive balance of 3.2 billion dirhams ($230 million) in 2019.

Meanwhile, it said the global amount collected by the Special Fund for the management of the novel coronavirus pandemic has amounted to 33.3 billion dirhams ($3.3 billion) in H1 2020.

“At the end of June 2020, the trust account entitled ‘Special Fund for the management of the coronavirus pandemic’ recorded income of 33.3 billion dirhams and expenditure of 18.1 billion dirhams ($1.8 billion),” it reported.

It is noteworthy that the special Fund was established under the directives of King Mohammed VI to cover the costs of upgrading the medical system, support the national economy to cope with the shocks induced by this coronavirus, preserve jobs, and mitigate the social repercussions of the pandemic.



Nippon Steel, US Steel Send Letter to Biden on Merger Plans

The Edgar Thomas Plant of the United States Steel Corporation in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2022. Branden Eastwood/AFP/Getty Images
The Edgar Thomas Plant of the United States Steel Corporation in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2022. Branden Eastwood/AFP/Getty Images
TT

Nippon Steel, US Steel Send Letter to Biden on Merger Plans

The Edgar Thomas Plant of the United States Steel Corporation in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2022. Branden Eastwood/AFP/Getty Images
The Edgar Thomas Plant of the United States Steel Corporation in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2022. Branden Eastwood/AFP/Getty Images

Nippon Steel and US Steel have sent a letter to US President Joe Biden about their planned $15 billion merger after media reported that he was preparing to block the deal, a spokesperson for the Japanese steelmaker said.

The spokesperson did not provide details about the letter's content, but said it was signed by Nippon Steel Chief Executive Eiji Hashimoto and US Steel CEO David Burritt as well as other executives.

US Steel did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of US business hours. The US embassy in Japan did not immediately have comment.

Japan's biggest steelmaker is pursuing a cash deal to buy the 123-year-old US Steel, despite resistance from Biden, the United Steel Workers (USW) union and many members of Congress while a US national security review is conducted.

The deal has also been opposed by both Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Both are vying to win the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, where US Steel is headquartered.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) told the companies in an Aug. 31 letter seen by Reuters the deal would create national security risks because it could hurt the supply of steel needed for critical transportation, infrastructure, construction and agriculture projects.

A top Nippon Steel executive and US Steel's CEO met with senior US officials on Wednesday in an effort to salvage the deal, a person familiar with the matter said.

The outcome of the meeting was not immediately clear.

The Japan Business Federation and a number of US business groups, in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday, raised concerns that the Biden administration's national security review of the deal is being unduly influenced by political pressure.

On Friday, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito declined to comment on the deal, saying that doing so would interfere in US domestic affairs.

But Saito added: “It is extremely important that Japanese and US companies continue to make transactions and the growth in deals constitutes a key element of the strong economic relationship between the two nations.”