This memorandum develops the considerations mentioned in paragraphs
2, 3 and 4 of page 2 of the letter addressed by the Belgian
Ambassador to the Honorable the Secretary of State on the subject,
under date of February 7th 1938.
[Enclosure—Translation]
Belgian Memorandum Relative to the Moroccan
Customs Tariff
The French thesis is that the rate of 10 percent was fixed by
Article 7 of the Anglo-Moroccan Treaty of Commerce and
Navigation of December 9, 1856, Article 50 of the
Spanish-Moroccan Treaty of Commerce of November 20, 1861, and
Article 2 of the German-Moroccan Treaty of Commerce of June 1,
1890. The other powers cannot claim the application of this rate
except by virtue of the clause of the benefit of the most
favored nation inserted in multilateral diplomatic instruments
like the Convention of Madrid of 1880,25 or of special agreements. Therefore,
modification may take place by an arrangement concluded by
Morocco with Great Britain and Spain, Germany having renounced
her rights in Morocco by the Treaty of Versailles.26
England appears to admit this thesis, which nevertheless does not
appear to be well-founded.
If it is sound, as regards countries from which France has
requested the recognition of her protectorate, while giving them
in compensation the benefit of the most favored nation, it could
not be applied to the signatories of the Act of Algeciras.
The Act of Algeciras stipulates in Article 123 that “All the
treaties of the signatory powers with Morocco shall remain in
force.” It may be said that this article integrates into the Act
all previous treaties; it gives to them a new life and aspect
and from being bilateral, renders them multilateral, while
calling upon the signatories of the Act to ratify them.
Thus the Maghzen has pledged itself toward all the powers which
took part in the Conference to maintain the rate of 10 percent.
In order to convince oneself of this, it is sufficient to reread
the procés-verbaux of the meetings.
As is known, the Sultan sought especially to augment his
resources. In this order of ideas, his principal care was to
obtain an increase of
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the customs duties, as is proved by his letters addressed to the
negotiators and the many interventions of the Shereefian
delegates. From the beginning, the representatives of the powers
showed that there could be no question of it. Furthermore, at
the second Committee meeting27 (January 25, 1906) the Minister of France, Mr.
Revoil clearly indicated that in this domain foreign countries
had a right of supervision:
“There is a second category of taxes, those which weigh
more particularly on foreigners as, for example, customs
duties; as regards this second category the mission of
the Conference would be more precise: Leaving the domain
of advice, it could enter into the domain of
proposals.”
This recognition of the rights of all the powers to intervene in
a modification of the rate of the customs duties, as well as the
intention of the Conference to confirm the rate of 10 percent,
is fully evident from the minutes of the meetings.
After the second meeting of the above-mentioned Committee, there
was referred to all the delegates a “questionnaire for preparing
the study of a better yield of Moroccan taxes and the creation
of new revenues.”
Question 14 was thus framed: “Should we defer to the proposal
many times expressed by the Sultan of increasing the customs
duties? Should there be a global increase on importation?”
In the course of the third Committee meeting (January 27, 1906)
there took place, regarding entry duties, a general discussion
in which all the delegates took part, on a question of Baron
Joostens28 whether the possible
increase of the customs duties would be global. Mr. Revoil
stated definitely that “it would indeed be global but it would
not be incorporated in the duty; that that duty would remain
fixed at the present figures.” Is it possible to find a more
formal confirmation by the Conference itself of the rate of 10
percent?
In opening the fourth Committee meeting (January 29, 1906) the
President suggested the postponement of the discussion on the
raising of the customs duties until the time when the delegates
of the powers should have received instructions from their
governments. This is indeed a recognition of the right of all to
take part in the possible modification of the rate.
At the fifth Committee meeting there was read a Shereefian letter
insisting on obtaining an important increase of the entry
duties, a differential taxation according to products and the
payment of the
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increase into the treasury. The minutes recorded that “the
delegates of the powers are in agreement in recognizing that the
idea of increasing the 10 percent ad valorem which now applies
to the importation of merchandise into Morocco to 20 percent for
the generality of products, to 40 percent for sugar, tea and
coffee and to 100 percent for beverages other than mineral
waters is not admissible.”
And in the course of the discussion which followed, Mr. Revoil
again stated that “Morocco could not increase the import duties
without the consent of the powers.”
At the fifth plenary session (February 7, 1906) he confirmed this
point of view in the following language: “There is perhaps in
the mind of the Moroccan delegates a certain confusion between
the import duties and the export duties. On the subject of
import duties, Morocco is under the obligation of coming to an
understanding with the powers when there is a question of
modifying the existing duties.”
These texts need no comment. They clearly and formally imply:
- 1.
- That all the powers including France have recognized
that no change can be made in the rate of 10 percent
without the agreement of all the powers represented at
Algeciras.
- 2.
- That the Conference, if it did not so state in the
General Act, nevertheless confirmed that the rate of the
import duties could not be raised.
It may be said that this second point is explicitly established
by Article 66 of the Act of Algeciras. In consenting to the
application of a supplementary duty of 2½ percent ad valorem on
the importation of foreign goods, the Conference made three
conditions: That it should be temporary; that it should be paid
into a special fund and that its revenue should be assigned to
certain works, the whole under the supervision of the Diplomatic
Corps. Furthermore, the negotiators have taken care that no
confusion could take place with the customs duties. The first
designation given by the drafting committee to the supplementary
duty was “customs surtax”. In the 16th plenary meeting (January
31, 1906) the delegate of Austria-Hungary pointed out that it
was not a question of a customs duty, and that the description
employed might give rise to misunderstanding. He therefore
proposed to replace the designation “customs surtax” by that of
“special tax”, which was unanimously adopted.
