Morocco: Europe's nearshore manufacturing hub
Morocco has quietly become one of the most important manufacturing and trade partners for European companies — Renault, Stellantis, Boeing and dozens of garment and electronics brands now have major production in Tanger Free Zone and Casablanca. We've built our Morocco service around this reality: weekly sailings, in-house customs in Tanger, and Arabic/French-speaking coordinators.
- Tanger / Tanger Med — port, free zone, automotive, gateway from Europe
- Casablanca — economic capital, port, e-commerce hub
- Rabat — administrative capital, government and embassy logistics
- Marrakech, Agadir, Fès — regional distribution and tourism logistics
Most common lanes
| From | To | Transit (door-to-door) |
|---|---|---|
| Antwerp / Rotterdam | Tanger | 7-10 days (sea) |
| Algeciras (Spain) | Tanger Med | 3-4 hours (ferry) |
| Marseille | Casablanca | 5-7 days (sea) |
| Brussels / Frankfurt (air) | Casablanca | 2-3 days |
| Tanger | Casablanca / Rabat | Same day (road) |
| Tanger | Marrakech / Agadir | 24-48h |
Morocco customs and paperwork
Morocco is part of the EU's Association Agreement, which means most industrial goods enjoy 0% duty when properly documented. The documentation is where it gets fiddly.
What you need for a Europe → Morocco shipment:
- EUR.1 movement certificate — stamped by the EU customs at export. Required for preferential 0% duty.
- Commercial invoice in French with importer's ICE number, full HS codes, country of origin
- Packing list matching the invoice exactly (Moroccan customs cross-checks)
- Bank domiciliation for any payment above 200,000 MAD (~€18,500) — has to be set up before shipment
- Conformity certificates for cosmetics, electronics, toys, food products
Full guide: Europe → Morocco — routes, transit times and paperwork.
Tanger Free Zone and TFZ
If your client or supplier is in Tanger Free Zone (TFZ) or one of the other Moroccan free zones (TAC, MidParc, etc.), the customs flow is different — goods can enter the zone without paying duty or VAT, and only get cleared if they leave the zone into Moroccan mainland.
This is heavily used by automotive (Renault Tanger plant), aeronautics (Boeing supply chain), and electronics manufacturers. We handle TFZ shipments regularly — just tell us the consignee is in the free zone and we set up the right transit paperwork.