The UK government has asked businesses and the public for evidence on a possible procurement agreement with Morocco that could give British suppliers better access to public contracts.
The call for evidence opened on 24 August and will close on 11 September 2026. The government said it was still in the scoping stage and had not announced formal negotiations.
If pursued, the proposal would add a government procurement chapter to the existing UK-Morocco Association Agreement. It would create the UK’s first legally binding procurement commitments with Morocco and with an African country.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade estimates Morocco’s public procurement market at around £33 billion over the next few years.
Agreement would set rules for public contracts
Government procurement is the process by which public bodies buy goods, services and construction work from private companies.
An international procurement agreement normally identifies which authorities and contracts are covered. It then requires each country to treat qualifying goods, services and suppliers from the other country fairly and without discrimination.
Such an agreement would not guarantee contracts for British companies. Firms would still have to bid, meet the relevant requirements and compete on price and quality.
Morocco is not a member of the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Government Procurement. The UK therefore has no existing international procurement commitment with Morocco, according to the government’s information note.
The consultation asks businesses whether they have considered bidding for Moroccan public contracts, which market-access barriers they have encountered and what any future agreement should cover.
UK exports to Morocco rose in 2025
Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Morocco reached £4.7 billion in the four quarters to the end of 2025, up 10.4% in current prices from the previous 12 months.
UK exports to Morocco increased 17.2% to £2.1 billion. Imports rose 5.5% to £2.6 billion, leaving the UK with a bilateral trade deficit of £511 million, according to the government’s latest trade and investment factsheet.
The figures are measured in current prices, meaning they are not adjusted for inflation or exchange-rate movements.
Morocco is investing in airports, healthcare, water infrastructure and other projects ahead of co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup. In June 2025, the UK government identified a £1.2 billion Casablanca airport project and a proposed £150 million hospital among the opportunities it wanted British companies to pursue.
The consultation comes as British exporters face a less favourable wider trade picture. UK goods exports fell 6.3% in June, while the quarterly goods and services trade deficit widened to £8 billion, as Market Business News reported earlier this month.
Morocco remains a relatively small export market for the UK, ranking 52nd among British export destinations in the 12 months to the end of 2025. The proposed agreement is intended to address one specific part of that relationship rather than remove all barriers to trade.
The call for evidence will help ministers decide whether to proceed and which contracts, authorities and protections should be considered. The government has not set a timetable for negotiations or an agreement.
