For the last three years, CLDP has been providing technical assistance to the Government of Morocco (GOM), within the framework of the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement. This latest program of technical assistance specifically focusing on trade remedies, including anti-dumping, took place in Rabat in January 2010 and was the result of a close cooperation with the Department of Commerce's Import Administration (DOC-IA) as well as the International Trade Commission (ITC) and the United States Trade Representative (USTR). ITC Commissioner Irving Williamson, David B. Fishberg, Staff Attorney, and George L. Deyman Director, Office of Investigations (Division A), from the ITC as well as John McInerney Chief Counsel for Import Administration (IA) and Abdelali Elouaradia, Office Director for China/NME with IA, all travelled to Rabat to share their expertise on trade remedies.

The objective of the seminar was to introduce the GOM to US antidumping procedures and provide some case analyses on a technical and practical level. The participants, including the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emerged with a firm understanding of the specific issues raised by antidumping cases and the institutional resources necessary to address those issues individually and together in one coherent process. The presentations emphasized in particular their interest in case initiation and investigation and how the DOC-IA and ITC receive and verify petitions for investigations, including analyzing the questionnaires.

The seminar also described the different facets of US practices for the ensuing investigation and determinations (involving margins at the DOC-IA and injury at the ITC). The overriding goal was to instill an introductory understanding of how to conduct these investigations and make these decisions in compliance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Anti-dumping Agreement.

Institutionally, the presentations and discussions also lead the representatives from the different ministries to consider how the GOM will ultimately divide these responsibilities either within one ministry or spread out into other ministries. They also assisted them in determining the desired qualifications and backgrounds for the staff that will perform these functions. Consistent with the theme of WTO compatibility and trade liberalization, the officials came away with an understanding of how transparent antidumping practices fit within the country's overall international trade policy.