Morocco - Trade StandardsMorocco - Trade Standards
Overview
IMANOR (Institut Marocain de Normalisation) is the national standards body of Morocco and is responsible for standardization in Morocco. IMANOR was created in 2010, replacing SNIMA, a part of the Ministry of Industry. Its mission is to:
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Produce Moroccan standards
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Certify compliance with standards and normative references
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Publish and disseminate standards and related products and information
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Train on standards and implementation techniques, and
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Represent Morocco in international and regional standardization organizations
IMANOR standard and the Ministry of Industry, Trade, Investment, and the Digital Economy will grant the product the right to use the NM label as proof of its quality. All products must also conform to the specifications of the U.S-Morocco Free Trade Agreement.
The National Office for Food Safety (Office National de Securité Sanitaire des Produits Alimentaires, ONSSA) is the Ministry of Agriculture’s inquiry point on standards:
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Main Website: http://www.onssa.gov.ma
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www.onssa.gov.maDirection for the Conrol and Protection of Vegetables (Direction des Contrôles et de la Protection des Végétaux): http://www.onssa.gov.ma/onssa/fr/dir_cont_vet.php
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Division of Regulatoin and Normalization (Division de la Réglementation et de la Normalisation): http://www.onssa.gov.ma/onssa/index.php
Testing, Inspection and Certification
The main national testing organization is the Laboratory for Public Tests and Studies (Laboratoire Public d’Essais et d’Etudes, LPEE). LPEE currently has laboratories in all of Morocco’s major cities. Although most of its work is dedicated to building and construction testing, it also deals with electrical and calibration testing.
The following five government commissions have the mandate to certify standards conformity:
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Multi-sector Commission (Commission Pluri-sectorielle), which includes services,
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Food and Agricultural Industry Certification Commission (Commission de Certification des Industries Agro-Alimentaires),
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Chemical and Para-Chemical Industry Certification Commission (Commission de Certificat des Industries de la Chimie et de la Parachimie),
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Mechanic, Metallurgic, Electric and Electronic Certification Commission (Commission de Certification des Industries Mécaniques, Métallurgiques, Electriques et Electroniques),
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Textile and Leather Industry Certification Commission (Commission de Certification des Industries du Textile et du Cuir).
The only Moroccan accreditation body is the Ministry of Industry, Trade, Investment, and the Digital Economy. Although accreditation is still voluntary with no accreditation requirements mandatory by technical regulations, there are almost 30 certified labs nationwide. A complete list of these labs can be found at http://www.mcinet.gov.ma/~mcinetgov/fr/content/accreditation.
Publication of Technical Regulations
IMANOR is responsible for the production of Moroccan standards, the certification of compliance with standards and normative references, the publication and dissemination of standards and related products and information, and training on standards and implementation techniques. IMANOR represents Morocco in international and regional standardization organizations.
Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have committed, under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), to notify the WTO of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade.
“Notify U.S.” (www.nist.gov/notifyus) is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected country(ies) and industry sector(s) of interest and can also request full texts of regulations. This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce