An incomprehensible surtax on A4 paper size from Portugal, which goes against a long-term partnership with Morocco

Grupo Portucel Soporcel deeply regrets the decision of the Foreign Trade Department to impose a temporary measure on Portuguese A4 paper size imported to Morocco, which the aforementioned company contests and is set on undermining.
Grupo Portucel Soporcel has developed in Morocco over the past 10 years, not by practising low prices, but rather acting - as is the case with all export markets - as a responsible actor offering premium paper products, a service of quality, and brands which have been the trusted standards within Morocco, particularly for the authorities and large accounts of the country, where price is in line with the market.
As is the case with structured markets, Grupo Portucel Soporcel has been meeting the increasingly demanding needs of Moroccan clients since 2004 who have become loyal to regular and quality paper supply. This gradual growth of Grupo Portucel Soporcel within the Moroccan market has been accompanied by a constant rise in prices throughout the years, and despite the progressive dismantling of import duties; it is a sign of the will of Grupo Portucel Soporcel to primarily ensure stability and balance within the Moroccan market. Not following the logic of opportunity but rather a long- term development strategy, Grupo Portucel Soporcel has succeeded in creating a true partnership with Moroccan distributors and users.
The presence of gPS products within the Moroccan market is not the consequence of any unfair competition practices by gPS for the past 10 years, as the complainant will have you believe, but rather a simple result of a gap left by local productions, which have been unable to catch up over the years in preparation for the total dismantling of import duties, as well as the provision of quality products which satisfy the increasingly important requirements of consumers made necessary by the technological evolution of offices.
This loyal presence of gPS products and their reputation within the Moroccan market - which is purely motivated by a Moroccan demand for quality products -, shows the absence of direct competition between gPS products and those of the complainant.
If the complainant is currently trying to make believe that gPS imports are the cause of their damages, then they are purely mistaken and the figures are there to remind them. In effect, these damages have been quantified (based on a theoretical and artificial reconstruction of the local producer prices) as an average of 2.6% - too far from the
10.60% margin imposed temporarily - confirming that gPS imports are not the cause for the damages claimed by the complainant.
Furthermore, it is ironic to observe in a survey a Portuguese producer exporting top quality products at high prices through Morocco, in relation to other producers - as shown in the official Eurostat statistics -, who is also recognised in the draft report of the Foreign Trade Department.
Finally, a measure against the Portuguese A4 paper size will not benefit in any way the Moroccan industry, benefiting other import sources instead. This will also penalise all Moroccan consumers, large accounts and end consumers, who have been benefiting for over 10 years from a balanced and regular top product supply, and for gPS those ten years of efforts and loyalty are now undermined because of measures which according to proof do not help the complainant in solving their financial, management, and upgrading issues, which we all know about and have no relation to gPS imports.
In conclusion, gPS remains confident that the final analysis of the files shall open up a clear view that these imports are not responsible for the alleged damage by the Moroccan industry.
www.portucelsoporcel.com

distributed by